Dada Khanyisa (b. 1991, Umzimkhulu, South Africa) lives and works in Cape Town. Khanyisa’s sculptural paintings articulate everyday interactions and universal social dynamics, celebrating community and expression as part of a lively observational practice. Playful assemblages draw from an extensive repertoire of materials and textures, featuring hand carved figures that intertwine with intuitive modernist shapes. Arranged against painted and collaged three-dimensional backdrops that incorporate found objects and architectural references, Khanyisa’s vibrant characters often look back to shared histories in order to evaluate the present – inspired by the artist’s immediate community, the internet and social media, and their research into the cultural, social and political histories of South Africa.
