| Background / History... |
Bongi Bengu was born in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, grew up in exile, in Geneva, Switzerland and studied in High School in Switzerland and later Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland.
As a student in Swaziland, she received a distinction for a research project, which included interviewing established and major artists who are now my 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 later enrolled and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree Mount Vernon College, in Washington DC, and an Masters Degree in Fine Arts from The University of Cape Town. She has since participated in numerous international residencies and workshops.
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| On the Art Side... |
| Though highly versatile her work is a social commentary about her life a black/African woman, and a black woman artist. Over the years her work has been evolving in texture and depth, she has worked with soils, collage and clay. Her recent output – utilising leaves- and engagement with nature, preserving, questioning and re- interpreting the meaning of life and its organisms, speaks of the process of decay and renewal (of life). It also echoes her experience of exile and homecoming. |
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