If all goes according to plan the first sculpture piece by Erhardt, a photographer, will have its first overseas incarnation in June 2018 at Michigan State University in Michigan, USA. A special edition of this work was also unveiled as gravestone for struggle veteran Ahmed Kathrada in August this year. (Erhardt himself explained the sculpture to Kathrada when he visited Stellenbosch in November 2016.)

But the first iMadiba sculpture – according to Erhardt the world's smallest museum – stands next to the SU Museum, on the Wilgenhof side. Many little museums eventually form a big one, and that is the plan: to recreate the concrete bench, exactly according to the measurements of Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island, on as many places across the world as possible. “It is a 'listener's corner' rather than a 'speaker's corner'," says Erhardt. “Only then the work is complete. I hope that it will help to move South Africa from a free country to a free and fair country."

Erhardt found inspiration in the aftermath of the so-called Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in 2015 in which 12 people were killed. Instead of saying Je Suis Charlie ('I am Charlie') in solidarity, Erhardt decided on iMadiba, and rather remember this giant from South African history and follow in his footsteps.

Apart from the sculpture at the SU Museum, there are two more iMadiba prototypes in Stellenbosch: at Paul Roos Gimnasium and Jan Marais Park. Erhardt used these sculptures, together with a similar one that went up in flames at the Afrikaburn festival, as test runs to finalise the design and material used. Numbers two and three will soon be unveiled at Mthatha and Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

With support from the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Erhardt hopes to erect at least 100 more similar sculptures in 2018, the year in which Madiba's hundredth birthday is commemorated.

But the first one is at Stellenbosch University.

On the SU's involvement, Dr Leslie van Rooi, senior director for Transformation and Social Impact says: “It is good to take hands with Erhardt on this wonderful project. It is in keeping with the SU's values and offers us the opportunity to a new way of think about critical art on our campus. It is a privilege to have this work on the grounds of the SU Museum. I encourage all personnel and students to visit the iMadiba work."​