Bahati Simoens is a Belgian-Congolese artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Born in Munanira, Burundi, and raised on the Belgian coast, her early life was shaped by a lack of visible African influences. This absence sparked a deeply personal creative journey, and curiosity around the diaspora. What began as a form of self-therapy evolved into a powerful artistic practice rooted in representation, the sense of home and belonging.


“My work started as a way of creating a fantasy world, entirely filled by Black figures only.
I wanted Black people to feel seen. Which is why I consider my work to be a love letter to the Black body.”


Bahati’s striking figures, monumental in form with intentionally small, almost imperceptible heads, demand presence. Their exaggerated scale speaks to physical, emotional, and spiritual visibility, while 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. 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.  A mirror for Black and brown people, and leave them with a feeling they 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 Banks and Jack Davison/LooseJoints.