Frida Kahlo: Millionaire burns Frida Kahlo drawing to sell as NFT | International

Last summer, millionaire Martín Mobarak burned an untitled drawing by the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. He plans to sell 10,000 copies of the original in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT) – digital certificates or cryptographic tokens used to record the value of tangible assets. The artwork – on which the words “creepy ghosts” can be read – was valued at $10 million. Mobarak says his action will transform the world of digital art.

Kahlo’s drawing is one of the items in her diary, dated between 1944 and 1954. Mobarak – who presents himself as a philanthropist and NFT investor – is the founder of the Frida.NFT initiative. His website says that by digitizing the destroyed original, Kahlo’s art will be introduced “into the metaverse… [merging] the traditional art world with the digital art world.”

The Mexican millionaire bought the picture in 2015 from the Mary-Anne Martin Gallery in New York City. He insists that the charities he plans to donate to will receive “constant” help with the creation of this NFT. He also admits that his burning of the drawing can be “misunderstood”. However, he still claims that it will lead to the artist’s immortalisation.

“Burning the work will help create a new group of collectors,” explains Mobarak. He even claims – without evidence – that if Frida Kahlo knew the destination of the donations he intends to make, she would have asked him to “burn everything”.

Mobarak set fire to the drawing at an event held on July 30 in Miami. Online, the millionaire is now inviting the public to buy into what he considers to be the “most historic NFT around.” The sales period ends in November.

Both sides of the drawing were digitized. On the back, it features the words “Chromophore” and “Auxochrome” – two scientific terms that the Mexican artist adopted as names for herself and her partner, fellow artist Diego Rivera. On other pages of Kahlo’s diary – which is included in the Frida Kahlo Museum’s collection in the Mexico City area of ​​Coyoacán – the painter describes herself as “Chromophore, the one who receives color” and Rivera as “Auxochrome, the one who captures color. “

Mobarak believes that the work expresses love and pain. Love is reflected in the terms that Kahlo referred to herself and her partner; pain is embodied by the “uncanny ghosts” that, according to Mobarak, the artist captured to show fear.