Farrarmere’s Courtney has bucketfuls of talent

Imagine driving down the road and seeing artwork you designed for one of the country’s biggest fast-food restaurant chains on an illuminated billboard across the highway.

For Farrarmere resident Courtney Hodgson this is a reality.

It all started when she was driving in Linksfield last year and saw a KFC bucket advertised on a billboard on the highway and said to herself, “I wonder if I could design something for a KFC bucket?”

Today, that same billboard sports the 26-year old creative’s work following her partnership with KFC as part of the brand’s ongoing collaboration with South African artists to reinterpret the KFC bottomless bucket and infuse it with contemporary cultural references.

Asked how she felt when she saw the billboard with the latest design, she said, “The entire billboard is my artwork. The buckets are on the billboard. I had to stop and cry in the car. It was all happy tears”.

Collaboration

While KFC has been on Courtney’s radar for a while due to its collaborations of SA illustrators, it came as a surprise to her when KFC emailed her in December saying she was on the list of illustrators they wanted to work with.

She immediately responded and days later, while Courtney was helping a man who had been stabbed, robbed and left stranded on the side of the highway in Sandton, KFC called her back with news that they wanted to use her work.

“The timing was insane. But it was testimony that if you see someone who needs help, stop and help them. You will be rewarded,” she said.

Design

It took Courtney three weeks to design the bucket. Known for her energetic township lifestyle and Benoni slang-inspired art style, she brought her lively township knowledge to the latest design.

The result is an illustration that depicts a group of friends enjoying lunch at a KFC outlet next to a taxi rank, before embarking on their journey home.

“The team at KFC looked at my work in my portfolio and referenced a township setting with a taxi in the forefront.

“They wanted it to reflect Easter weekend when everyone is commuting home.

“The idea is that you meet your friends at a KFC just before embarking on this journey.

“That’s why we have a sign of the different locations everyone is going to visit,” she said.

Full circle moment

The Benoni High alumnus understands the role KFC has played in creating memorable childhood memories for many South Africans.

Recalling her occasional dinners with her father at KFC as a youngster, Courtney explained this achievement as a ‘full circle moment’.

“I find it really special, but it sometimes seems like a pipe dream. Going from eating KFC with my dad on those Wednesdays to seeing the billboard on the highway and saying I can do that, to it now being real is crazy!”

She is thankful to the connections she has created through her business, Kiffkak, which celebrates SA’s rich colloquial culture.

It was through a client who bought a t-shirt from Kiffkak this partnership with KFC came about.

“When they showed me the other illustrators, I never thought they would choose Courtney from Benoni.

“It just happened to work out that way. I’m still in disbelief. It’s crazy that something I designed ended up in a room and sparked a conversation.”

A graduate of Open Window in Centurion, Courtney never imagined she would work with one of the biggest restaurant chains in the country this early in her career.

“I’m still battling to wrap my head around it. But I’m grateful to God. I will remain humble and grounded knowing that there’s greater purpose to the work I do.”

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