Bester has achieved great success in the way he combines three-dimensional material from the real world with two-dimensional representations. However, he is not the first artist to represent the real world through a combination of objects found within it. Picasso and Braque invented this method in the period of Synthetic Cubism, and it has since appeared in the rubbish collages of the Dadaist Kurt Schwitters and the early Pop assemblages of Robert Rauschenberg.
Bester was painting and creating artworks constantly, but in the Western art styles of, for example, Van Gogh. He believed that art meant depicting the natural surroundings - he did not know that a message could be created through a work, especially a political one. He wanted to further his art studies, since he knew from a young age that he wanted to create art, but he found that most art institutions were reserved for white people only.
However, he found the Community Arts Project in Cape Town, and joined it in 1988 for the year. Here he discovered another way of art. His fellow students were expressing themselves and their feelings about Apartheid. They were very much involved in the political struggle against Apartheid, creating posters and having discussions on issues beyond the borders, such as massacres the SADF used to carry out. These activities influenced him greatly, as he realised what he could do with his art. He started creating works on the same theme. Bester found a special personal meaning by focusing on the townships, as he had lived in the situation and had personal experiences to compliment his works, and started creating works on the themes we are familiar with today. His interest and involvement in political issues has not diminished, and he is still addressing many pertinent and confrontational issues.