12th Mar, 2025 19:00
Modern & Contemporary Art
27
Dada Khanyisa (South Africa 1991-)
iNkosi iBenathi In These Polyamorous Streets and Between Sheets
acrylic, fabric and oil pastel on plywood
Artwork date: 2017
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right
Exhibited: SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, 'Disclosure', 12 April to 20 May 2017.
Condition Report
The overall condition is excellent.
Shirt fabric slightly lifted on the far left figure.
Cracking on the top right pink area.
Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.
acrylic, fabric and oil pastel on plywood
Artwork date: 2017
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right
Exhibited: SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, 'Disclosure', 12 April to 20 May 2017.
(1)
182 x 135 x 5.5 cm
Provenance:
Private collection, Cape Town.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
I focus on sensuality, almost like the language between the characters, and I focus on location. A lot of social spaces have gone extinct or have changed in the last few years, so I think there's a part of my work where I try to create a memorial for what has been. [1]
Contemporary South African artist Dada Khanyisa has developed a distinct visual language, depicting almost three-dimensional characters with sharp edges and often exaggerated features, in social scenes that contain contextual clues.
In many of their works, the artist captures a youthful exuberance often seen and experienced within clubs and bars, especially in the context of the city. However, living in a post-apartheid South Africa, Khanyisa notably portrays black youth with joyful defiance – despite the heaviness of their collective and individual histories. The artist further pays special attention to details such as the subject’s clothing, thus giving the viewer a glimpse into what the young people were wearing and experimenting with at the time. Each multi-layered work then becomes a snapshot of both a moment and a culture.
iNkosi iBenathi In These Polyamorous Streets and Between Sheets features a visual and textural screenshot of a social occasion that may feel familiar to many South African viewers in various forms – even if it was created 8 years ago. iNkosi iBenathi, translates from Zulu to ‘May the lord be with us’, and seems to be a tongue-in-cheek comment on a slightly debaucherous scene with multi-partner relations that have become quite synonymous with contemporary dating culture in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The artist expertly depicts nuanced slices of life and a sense of constant movement through the use of different modernist shapes, bright colours and protruding surfaces. This rare and important early work by Dada Khanyisa would mark the beginning of the artist’s unique incorporation of sharp wit, iconic cultural signifiers such as street fashion, and a keen sense of even the smallest, most intimate public moments.
Carina Jansen
[1] Gillen, D. (2024). The Dadaism of Dada Khanyisa. Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine. [online]. Available: https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/the-dadaism-of-dada-khanyisa/
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