Mayowa has described discovering NFTs as “the perfect place for me to begin my creative journey”, after concluding that the traditional art market was too saturated for him to make a living as an artist. His work, made as surreal self-portraits, grew out of a wish, in his words, “to escape from reality but at the same time create my own reality to express my creative urge”. His early struggle for visibility was typical of Nigerian NFT artists, most of whom rely on international collectors because of the small size of the local collector base.²