Ballito’s Niqui da Silva can create anything from ghastly ghouls to glamorous gals with just a few flicks of her makeup brush.
The talented makeup artist has been working behind the camera for more than 25 years, starting in print media before taking to the silver screen.
Her career has taken her from the desolate deserts of Namibia to wintry England, and all corners of South Africa.
“I first started doing makeup in 1998 when I thought of doing some bridal work over weekends while I figured out what to do with my life,” said Niqui.
“I soon started working in a makeup boutique in Hyde Park in Johannesburg where I started to really learn the craft.”
In 2000, she went freelance, building a career primarily in shoots for fashion magazines, while dipping her toe into the film world.
“I had a short experience on a film set in 2003 and absolutely hated it. It was long hours, tough work and very militant and regimented,” she said.
“I did a TV advert in 2007 where we were body painting in freezing cold conditions. I thought it was actually insane, so no film for me thank you very much!”
It took until 2012 when Niqui was offered a four-week assignment on the Mad Max: Fury Road set in Namibia for her to get back on a movie set. And it was unlike anything she had seen before.
“The scale was just amazing. We had 2 000 crew and 38 makeup artists all pulling together in this crazy environment with a bunch of Aussies and South Africans in the desert. I saw how much fun and rewarding the process could be.”
After her four-week stint, the actress she was assigned to was ‘killed off’ on screen, but Niqui stayed behind to help out in prosthetics.
“That was just the best possible crash course I could have had, working with an amazing makeup team and learning the ins and outs of prosthetics in a few days.”
She would later be drafted to work on Charlize Theron’s stunt double in the film, matching the makeup work of Charlize’s personal makeup artist, Paul Pattison.
Twelve weeks later and Niqui had caught the film bug.
Over the next eight years, she worked on a variety productions, some international and big budget, and others local indies.
For Mad Max, the makeup team was recognised with an Oscar and for the Roots television series, which Niqui worked on in 2015, the makeup team won an Emmy.
While her skills are not restricted to a genre, she did develop a love for working on horror movies, which led to a near-nocturnal year of her life in 2018.
“Horror movies are mainly shot at night and I worked on four back-to-back that year. I was basically a zombie myself.
Working so hard landed Niqui in burn-out and subsequently the Covid-19 pandemic shut down productions across the globe. She relocated to Ballito to recuperate in her parent’s holiday home, a place the family had visited since she was a young girl.
She fell in love with the town and now calls it home.
Niqui is available for make-up work, including bridal shoots, matric dances, fancy dress parties and much more.
To find more of her work or to contact her directly, visit linktr.ee/niquids.
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