Through their multidisciplinary artistry, Dada Khanyisa takes what others may perceive as uninteresting, to produce artworks that are imaginative
Dada Khanyisa is described as a “multidisciplinary artist working in paint, sculpture and installation, with a focus on the contemporary Black experience” by Art Joburg. They were born in 1991 in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal. In 2016, they completed a Bachelor of Fine Art degree at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, after studying Traditional and Digital Animation at the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa. Based in Cape Town today, Khanyisa is the winner of the 2022 FNB Art Prize and the 2016 Simon Gerson Prize at UCT. As a merit winner at the SA Taxi Art Awards in 2015, their work featured on 10 taxis traversing the main roads of South Africa. They participated in a Fountainhead residency in Miami in 2018.
Dada Khanyisa’s work is based on their social, financial and architectural commentary on daily experiences. What others may perceive as tedious, they find it imaginative through creating spirited 3D portraits that show figures in intimate settings, in essence highlighting the black experience. “I enjoy focusing on what people neglect or take for granted – their daily tasks and what was part of their growing experience” they told Avant Arte.
Khanyisa’s art is made out of basics materials used on a daily basis; glass, plastic, fabric and wood are frequently featured in their art. Through the “nomakanjani” process (by any means – in Zulu), the artist layers each element together using collage. Inspired by memory and their surrounding world, the art that they produce is a combination of their personal life with nods to pop culture with things like sneakers and football shirts featured in their artworks. “They see this as a way to ‘juggle personal and collective memory’ – showing that our understanding of society is not individual, but shared. By drawing on their memory, Khanyisa creates a rich tapestry of life and culture today”.
