VISUAL ARTS
Black coffee puts painter Mlangeni on the map
A lack of art materials forced artist Ennock Mlangeni to be creative with whatever was at his disposal — with sensational results
Poverty and a lack of art materials inspired artist Ennock Mlangeni to reach for a coffee tin in search of a dark-coloured substance to complete his work, and this choice has catapulted him into the limelight. He trended on social media platforms earlier in 2018 for a painting of internationally acclaimed SA DJ Black Coffee — using coffee to get the colour of his skin exactly right. Mlangeni, 27, of Sasolburg in the Free State, says that he sometimes cannot afford to buy materials with which to work, forcing him to be creative with whatever is at his disposal. So he stumbled upon the idea of using instant-coffee granules, earning him the nickname Coffee Bae. "That was actually a coincidence, because as a creative person I test a lot of different materials to create my art pieces — like newspapers, pens and charcoal for instance — as I do not have paint at times. So one day I was playing around and I saw a coffee can, I tested it out, and it worked," he says. The self-taught visual a...
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