Biography

Mongezi Ncaphayi was born in Benoni, Johannesburg in 1983.  He obtained his Diploma in Art & Design from the Ekurhuleni East College, Benoni in 2004.  He then attended Artist Proof Studio and completed a Professional Printmaking Certificate. Ncaphayi was awarded the Ampersand Foundation, a residency in New York in 2011, followed by a residency at Mixit Print Studio, Boston. 

He obtained a Certificate in Advanced Studies from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He also won the Absa Atelier Gerard Sekoto prize, which provided him with a three month residency in the Cit'e in Paris. Ncaphayi’s work is in collections globally; including The Museum School of Fine Arts (MSFA), Boston, and Southern New Hampshire University, U.S.A, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France to name a few. Ncaphayi was recently one of the participating artists in the Lockdown Collection. An initiative to raise funds for Visual Artists during lockdown regulations in South Africa. He is currently represented by Cape Town based gallery SMAC.

 Artist Statement

 Ncaphayi’s work explores the socio-political history of South Africa, focusing on the history, culture, politics and subsequent displacement of the migrant mineworker.  In reference to his artwork he says, “I’m focusing on the abstract, which may be the result in being displaced from my previous environment.  As a Jazz musician I use music as a tool in my work for dealing with these situations, as would the migrant worker”.