‘Am Because We Are’ is a wonderful mural painted by South African artist Freddy Sam in the east city of Johannesburg.
This 40 Meter tall Nelson Mandela mural was commissioned by the Maboneng precinct as a gift to the city in memory of Nelson Mandela and is inspired by Madiba’s definition of ‘Ubuntu’ which is: ‘You cannot be human all by yourself’.
For the occasion Freddy Sam “chose to recreate an iconic photo by Bob Gosani of Mandela boxing as he believed all were equal in the ring.
The mural took him 4 days to complete in 2013 just after Madiba’s passing almost completing it on the day of his funeral, with only a few touch ups to do the storms and winds came down and the window washer broke and so completion was delayed to 2014.
Images by Ricky Lee Gordon and Bheki Dube, courtesy of Ricky Lee Gordon
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
