Kudala Ndilapha

Mthetho Sono

Long Gallery: 22.08.2024 - 03.10.2024

Mthetho Sono is a Cape Town/Johannesburg-based visual artist, he studied Fine Art at UCT”s Michaelis School of Fine Art. His work combines traditional art elements with contemporary approaches to art making and uses colour to create exciting composition and to enhance his narratives. Mthetho’s work covers themes of the human condition, spirituality, and personal stories, often exploring mental landscapes and emotional journeys.

His exhibition with the AVA combines two bodies work, each drawing on different influences - from modernism to contemporary figurative painting. Both explore human condition and the psychological spaces we find ourselves in.

Kudala ndilapha

Kudala ndilapha is a series of figurative paintings of a girl in her bedroom. Occupying herself as she waits, answering her own questions. What she is waiting for will always be a mystery to the observer, turning the reflection on to the time when we found ourselves waiting anxiously, fearful in our anticipation.

I know what it means to sit and wait for something that only I can see, and, at times, it’s a lonely, terrifying experience. Kudala ndilapha is a simple expression of waiting anxiously. It aims to capture the feeling of being in the same place for a long time only to look back and realise the strides you’ve made moving forward.

Songs to cry to

We all cry, you cry, we all cry. Men cry, women cry, we all cry. Words don’t always express enough and gestures aren’t loud enough. Eventually, we grow tired of filtering what we feel and we turn to the most basic forms of expression.

We don’t only cry out of sadness, at times we cry tears of love, happiness, anxiety, and fear. These are some of the songs we cry to.

CATALOGUE

This exhibition was made possible thanks to the City of Cape Town’s support.

Kudala Ndilapha

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