Bahati Simoens is a Belgian-Congolese artist, currently based in Johannesburg (South Africa). Born in Munanira (Burundi) and then raised on the Belgian coast (Ostend), African spheres of influence had limited reach. Finding voices and figures that affirmed a large part of who she is was not as easy and abundantly available as it may be in African nations. “My practice started as a form of self-therapy where I just wanted to create this little fantasy world where there are only black people. I wanted black people to feel seen, so I consider my practice to be a love letter to the Black body.”

Bahati exaggerates the presence (physical, spiritual, emotional) of black people in the form of large bodies, making her subjects unmissable and certainly unforgettable. Bahati’s tiny, undetectable heads are a reminder to not get lost in the ego of the mind but to use the mind as an intelligent and empowering tool.

A visual language where bright light and deep shadows coexist harmoniously, searching for a sense of home and belonging. Through a whimsical lens of her own sense of belonging Bahati’s aim is to create a mirror. Where some might mistake ‘the search of belonging’ as one trying to find their identity, Bahati leaves from knowing hers, wanting other black and brown people to feel seen and to leave them with a feeling they themselves didn’t know was missing.

Bahati’s work has been featured on The New York Times, WePresent, ItsNiceThat, Metal Magazine, and Inbtwn Magazine, as well as collaborations with INQUE magazine, Selfridges, Nataal, Jacob Bank,s and Jack Davison/LooseJoints.

SOLO EXHBITIONS

2024
Sunset Market, BKhz, Johannesburg, South Africa

2022
‘Jasmine like Summer’, Independent and entirely autonomous solo exhibition, Antwerp, Belgium

2021
‘Charcoal Swans under the sun’, La Causa Galeria, Madrid, Spain
‘Go & Grow’, Medium Tings, New York, United States

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025
‘Journey Mercies’, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa
N Gallery Collection, N Gallery, Seongnam-si, South Korea
‘Microcosmos’, N Gallery, Seongnam-si, South Korea

2024
CURA (circuito urbano de arte) Art Festival, mural invitation 417m2 building, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2022
‘GANG GANG’, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Botho Project Space, Cape Town, South Africa
First Artist led art fair, Botho Art Collective, Los Angeles, United States
‘Rise’, NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany
‘If not now, then when?’, BKhz, Johannesburg, South Africa

2021
‘Ndoimadzi’, Botho Project Space, Johannesburg, South Africa
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Botho Project Space, Cape Town, South Africa