A product of eShowe
Art exhibition opens on Sunday at the Beautiful Things Art Gallery in the Fort Nongqayi Village Museum.
LARRY BENTLEY
THE guest artist at this year’s eShowe Heritage festival is eShowe-born Bongi Bengu.
She was born in 1970, but left South Africa in 1978 when her family went into political exile.
Her schooling was in Switzerland and later Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland.
As a student in Swaziland, she received distinction for a research project, which included interviewing established and major artists who later became her colleagues at The Bag Factory Studios in Newtown, Johannesburg.
It is through that eye-opening exercise and exposure to the art establishment at such a young age, that she decided to become an artist.
She obtained a BA in Fine Arts (Cum Laude) from Mount Vernon College in Washington DC in 1993.
She then continued her studies with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town in 1997.
She has exhibited widely and has participated in numerous international residencies and workshops.
About her work, Bongi says, ‘Though highly versatile my work is a social commentary about my life as a black/African woman and a black woman artist.
‘The works are not only about layering textures, experiences and emotions, but they also reflect the dualities and contradictions of power and powerlessness.’
The exhibition will be opening at noon on Sunday, 18 May at the Beautiful Things Art Gallery in the Fort Nongqayi Village Museum in eShowe.
