Qhamani Bangani was born in eGcuwa in 1990. He met Ndzube in primary school, when they were both part of a dance group. Around this time Ndzube painted a portrait of a mutual friend’s father, and after seeing it, Bangani was moved to organize a painting session to learn Ndzube’s techniques. Bangani remarks that later, Ndzube inspired him to study art, and he enrolled in graphic design at CPUT. In discussing his current practice and his shift from graphic design to fine art, he recalls a conversation with Ndzube, in which the artist said, ‘this art thing is a calling and it will haunt you if you don’t attend to it’.
Bangani’s work focuses on the relationship between humans, animals and spirits, highlighting the way nature acts as a medium for the spiritual realm. He attributes his connection to other worlds to the practice of lucid dreaming, as well as being raised by a mother who is both a prophet and a healer. His richly hued canvases are filled with blues suggestive of infinity and calm, vibrantly feminine pinks and a variation of greens alluding to pastures for praying, feeding and playing. His gestural brush strokes aim to mirror and convey the vitality with which he transfers paint onto canvas, the same energy created through tapping into the metaphysical realm that his work is inspired by. For Bangani, making is a cathartic process, he explains: ‘This body of work was also created at a very low part of my life and have used it as a means to let out all my emotions and as a healing tool as a sense of hope for a better tomorrow.’
