Johannesburg 2025 Day 2

HI,

This is a very big day, mostly because we saw Khanya Mthethwa's show and I posted a bunch of pictures of it. So bear with me and zip through the images if they don't seem interesting. But what Khanya is trying to do is tell us about the tribal beginnings of the multi- ethnic backgrounds that exist in South Africa by pointing out the Kings from each culture.

But first, we went to the Wits Art Museum and saw the solo show of one of the oldest and most respected artists in South Africa, Esther Mohlangu. We also looked at some of their bead collection.

This was referred to as a doll

And now to Khanya's show called Abantu, which is a Zulu word meaning people. The sub-title is Threads that Bind Us.

This is Khanya

All these portraits of kings are on fabric, and the clothing and jewelry were added by Khanya. This part of the show was downstairs, as if to indicate that it is the foundation of everything that is built upon it.

The rest of the show is upstairs and tries to make contemporary connections to the archival material we have just seen. The process attempts to connect people to a past that continues to influence them. "It creates a space to consider how heritage shapes who we are and to celebrate the enduring threads that connect us all."

Khanya is in all the photographs wearing clothing influenced by different tribal colors and patterns. This is all above my head since I can't relate to or identify with the various tribes. But I respect her attempt to make these connections.

We then went to lunch in the home of Isa Schwartz Gesseau where we heard about diamonds – real and fake, along with select guests Lucy McGarry & Roberta Coci, founders of Latitudes- an art fair here.

Then on to the Everard Read Gallery, the country’s oldest commercial gallery, to meet with owner Mark Read. He had some interesting art by artists we had seen before.