Fadiel Hermans was born in the Bo Kaap. The memories from Fadiel’s childhood, growing up in the Bo Kaap, the people and the images he was surrounded by are still vivid. Besides a short graphic design course and working in the printing industry, Fadiel has had no other formal fine-art training. But he paints incessantly with oils and often incorporates ribbon, charcoal and found objects in his canvases. The artist has a uniquely rich narrative style of painting that leads the viewer through a multitude of story lines, which are more than often evasive and open-ended, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

Painting has been a constant in my life and is a deeply-rooted private and passionate attempt at making sense of my life, surroundings and experiences. I am constantly leading my eye and hand down the many, many pathways of stories and images floating around in my mind, with the hope of capturing some of them successfully on canvas. My work is all rooted in my memories and experiences, whether it is a certain colour, the way I try to capture light and shadow, the idea or even the feelings I try to evoke. Our creativity I believe stems from the ability to see things differently to the next person.