Dada Khanyisa: this is for you

In their first exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ, Radio Juxtapoz and featured artist alum Dada Khanyisa presents a group of ‘sculptural paintings’ that look to their immediate community in Cape Town, popular culture, and Khanyisa’s extensive research into the social and political histories of South Africa, producing lively figurative assemblages that convey the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary life. Throughout their labour-intensive practice – incorporating hand carved wood, meticulously compiled sculptural elements and found objects, and painted backdrops borrowed from candid or historic photographic sources – Khanyisa expresses interpersonal dynamics through the lens of their social observations and lived experience.