African Artist couple Bikis and Alda arrived in South Africa in the middle of winter 2000 lugging along everything they had at that time – a couple of suitcases and some precious tubes of paint.
They fled the war-torn Republic of Congo six months earlier in a desperate search for a safer place to raise a family. The difficult journey took them through Angola where they tried to survive for four months by painting and selling these paintings. They continued on through Namibia where, for two months, they again managed to live off proceeds from their paintings. Those precious tubes of paint proved to be their lifeline not only during the harrowing nomadic six months but also after their arrival in South Africa.
The French-speaking couple finally settled in Cape Town where, at first, they struggled to survive. As refugees unable to understand or speak English, Alda and Bikis untiringly painted as fast as they could and just as untiringly tried to sell those paintings at competitive prices. Eventually it all paid off.
Eight years after arriving in Cape Town, the couple secured a place to sell their African themed paintings at the V & A Waterfront. Art lovers from all over the world have snapped up these paintings and other artworks. Over the years, the couple has evolved a rather unique method of collaboration for some of the paintings. Bikis might start with sketches on a canvas and Alda fills it in with colors and finer details. Between the two of them, they have produced and sold thousands of paintings and other artworks. Both sign their paintings AldaB.
The oil painting on the first 20 pieces (B 1.01 – B 1.20) are 20 × 20 cm in size, painted on different sizes of canvas. The painting on the second edition (B 2.01 – B 2.08) is 33 × 33 cm on 40 × 40 cm canvases.
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