Buqaqawuli Thamani Nobakada (b. 2000) is an emerging contemporary mixed media artist born in the Western Cape and raised between Philippi township and a remote village in Lady Frere, Eastern Cape called Cumakala. Nobakada was first introduced to Fine Art in Johannesburg in the beginning of her adolescence and uses her academic background in architecture to create elaborate painting installations featuring materials that play into themes of black opulence and luxury, namely lace and various gemstones. Her primary medium is acrylic paint on hand prepared laced paper, often with the use of custom clay or gold jewellery. This is the medium through which much of the passion in her work is demonstrated; as she creates a delicate environment designed to affirm the beauty and gentleness with which she sees herself whilst simultaneously teaching the world how to see her, and anyone else who sees any part of themselves reflected back as they engage with the black female protagonists portrayed in Nobakada’s domestic moments of exaggerated abundance and intimacy. She uses her background in Architecture to participate in feminist afrofuturism as she paints the life she wants to live in the future, her focus on luxurious interiors with dramatic designer furniture details is a love letter to black girls who come from townships and rural areas like she does, she’s creating space for them to dream of an alternate reality, the work serves as a collective manifestation.
Nobakada’s work reflects the regal performances of femininity and beauty she finds herself surrounded by as she navigates tensions between traditional and modern expressions of beauty in a postcolonial world, and its relationship with the growing socioeconomic autonomy of women. Her elaborate figurative paintings of herself and the women around her display women in soft moments of non-sexual intimacy, this strategic self-disclosure allows black women to bear witness their own (and each other’s) “complex personhood” and to their rich interiority. Nobakada's artistic endeavors pay homage to the exemplary craftsmanship exhibited by contemporary black women who present themselves in regal and hyper-feminine ways. The body of work serves as an affectionate tribute to women who challenge observers to look twice because of how carefully considered visual encounters with them are. Her oeuvre diverges from conventional modes of understanding, reasserting an aesthetic that she earnestly regards as a form of elevated art.
Buqaqawuli Nobakada, honored with the 2023 ANNA Audience Choice Award by Latitudes, and an award for the best booth at the2024 Latitudes art fair in collaboration with Under the Aegis, she stands as a distinguished figure among exceptional women artists in South Africa and the African diaspora. Having successfully attained her Honours Degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand, Nobakada has now had a debut trio presentation at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair in February 2024 and is presently poised for a presentation at the FNB art fair later on this year.
“Black feminism is distinctive in its commitment to love as a political practice.”
- Nash, J: Love in the time of death