JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A giant pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses has become the most controversial artwork in South Africa.

Yes, sunglasses — a hulking, steel-gray pair of Wayfarers, perched on a patch of grass along Cape Town's Sea Point promenade and angled in the direction of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were once held.

Capetonians awoke Tuesday morning to find the sculpture defaced with a generous helping of spraypaint: “WE BROKE YOUR HEARTS” was written on the frames, and “REMEMBER MARIKANA” stenciled on the lenses, referring to the 2012 police shooting of striking mineworkers at the Marikana platinum mine.

A group of politically minded street artists called Tokolos Stencils has claimed responsibility via their website, explaining that “myopic art leads to and is a reflection of a myopic society.”

So why the fuss over an oversized pair of Wayfarers?

The sculpture by South African artist Michael Elion, titled “Perceiving Freedom,” is part of a public art initiative in Cape Town, the 2014 World Design Capital. The project was reportedly co-financed by Ray-Ban, which has made a lot of people very angry.

Next to the sunglasses is a plaque with a picture of Mandela wearing Ray-Ban-like dark shades. These were necessary protection for the former president's eyes, badly damaged during forced labor in Robben Island's blindingly bright limestone quarry.

It hasn't yet been a year since Mandela — affectionately known here by his Xhosa clan name, “Madiba” — died. Many South Africans view the Ray-Ban sculpture as a crass advertisement occupying a public space while capitalizing on their late national icon's image.

Duane Jethro, writing for Africa is a Country, describes “Perceiving Freedom” as “a pathetic appropriation of commemoration as cover for a commercial promotion.”

“Really, it’s a stunning emetic trigger that suggests that Nelson Mandela is beckoning us from the afterlife to buy Ray-Ban sunglasses, to do our duty for reconciliation and nation-building by consuming this luxury product,” he writes.

Mahala, a South African culture website, decried the sculpture as “kak,” meaning "crap": “There’s no debate about this one … when brands and local government collude with an ‘artist’ to create a massive sculpture of an overpriced (imported) accessory; then plant it on an affluent, touristy waterfront (Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town), point it at Robben Island and use the gracious Madiba, father of our nation, to market their bullshit … it is kak.”

Perhaps the best quip came from local comedian Deep Fried Man:

Elion, the sculptor, has also been roundly criticized by fellow South African artists on social media. On Tuesday afternoon he laid criminal charges against three of them, claiming they had threatened him with violence.