Threads of Memory

Long before Bongani “Nattydread” KaBhungane was teaching yoga or exhibiting artwork, he was a young man from Mount Fletcher with a pencil in his hand and a growing curiosity about where people come from, and what they carry with them through life.

Today, his work explores identity, ancestry and movement across Africa, but the path that led him there has been anything but straightforward. “There was a time when my life looked very different,” Bongani says. After years spent navigating the distractions and temptations of youth, a near-fatal shooting became a moment of reckoning, one that ultimately redirected his life toward creativity, spirituality and self-discovery. It is perhaps this understanding of transformation that runs through so much of his work today.

Born in Matatiele and raised in Mount Fletcher, Bongani later worked in a sugar factory before moving to Durban to study Fine Art and Jewellery Design at Durban University of Technology (DUT). There he encountered textile design, a discipline that would shape the direction of his artistic life.

At first glance, cotton may seem an unusual material to become fascinated by. Yet for Bongani, cotton is a storyteller. His research traces cotton’s journey through different African societies and ancient civilisations, examining how people, traditions and knowledge moved across borders long before modern maps existed. In his work, cotton becomes a symbol of connection, a thread linking communities separated by geography but connected through shared histories.

The process itself is slow and deliberate. Rather than relying solely on paint, Bongani builds his various works through layers of cloth, stitching, embroidery and mixed media. The art develops gradually, needles and thread become drawing tools, and fabric becomes a surface for memory. In some pieces, the stitched marks feel almost like scars, while in others they resemble pathways or family lines stretching across generations. What emerges is work that asks viewers to think differently about heritage. Not as something fixed in the past, but as something living that continues to shape who we are.

Alongside his visual art, Bongani teaches yoga and practises martial arts, both of which emphasise mindfulness and presence. That same patience is visible in his creative process. Nothing feels rushed. Every layer, every stitch and every mark is considered.

For visitors encountering his work, the takeaway is not necessarily an understanding of a specific historical event or cultural reference; it is something more personal. His art encourages us to reflect on our own threads of connection: the stories handed down to us, the journeys that brought our families here, and the traditions we choose to carry forward with our own creative endeavours.

In a fast-moving world, Bongani's work is a reminder that identity is rarely created overnight. Like cotton woven into cloth, it is built fibre by fibre, story by story.

Instagram: @bonganiluthuli