Amy-Leigh Braaf

Hakopike, the professional name of Johannesburg-born artist Amy-Leigh Braaf, is a South African painter, illustrator, and photographer with eight years of professional experience. Specializing in vibrant acrylic paintings and digital pieces, Hakopike embarks on a deeply personal exploration of her mixed heritage, drawing from travels and ancestral ties to Indonesia, Japan, and South Africa.

Born into the complexities of post-Apartheid South Africa, Braaf was confronted with labels from a young age. This experience ignited a profound interest in the oral histories and ancestry within her family, leading her to question the nature of history documented primarily through storytelling. This inquiry became the catalyst for her powerful series, "Celestial Deities." Through this body of work, she channels and explores the lives of "those who came before," giving form to the ancestors who gifted her a rich and diverse lineage.

After learning of her great-grandmother's Indonesian and Japanese roots, combined with her "Cape Malay" heritage, Braaf began to investigate the meaning of being racially ambiguous in South Africa. Her art seeks to showcase the unique mixed culture of Coloured people in the nation, celebrating everything from local culinary traditions to the psychological resilience developed in response to the trauma of Apartheid.

Through a compelling use of symbolism, vibrant colour, and narrative, "Celestial Deities" depicts characters that fuse her knowledge of the past with the reality of their descendants today. Hakopike's work aims to illuminate the rich, untold stories of those who were denied a voice, bringing their powerful histories to the forefront.