The KZNSA Gallery is proud to present iDla Ngamabala, the debut solo exhibition by Thobani Khanyile, winner of the 2025 Members’ Award Show. Khanyile claimed the prize with his magnificent artwork Woeful Studies.

Born in 1994 in Durban’s KwaMashu township, Khanyile brings his distinctive realism to this body of work. His award‑winning piece, Woeful Studies, portrays a haunting image of a cow submerged in floodwaters, accompanied by a bright rubber duck. As writer Sizwe Mahlalela observed, the work echoes Judith Butler’s concept of “precarious life,” revealing how certain bodies are deemed more grievable than others. The metaphor of the cow is crucial: in a time when Black lives are persistently rendered invisible, Khanyile’s practice insists on visibility and offers a timely moment of reflection.

The exhibition title draws on the Zulu proverb iDla ngamabala, meaning “the leopard uses its spots to catch its prey.” Just as the leopard’s markings serve as camouflage, Khanyile’s practice employs visual strategies that conceal and reveal, disrupt and disturb. His realism, which he describes as a mirror to reality, interrogates the plight of humanity – both mental and physical struggles that mark the journey to glory. The title also reflects how Khanyile harnesses his own artistic gifts: like the leopard’s spots, his talents become the means through which he navigates, unsettles, and ultimately captures the viewer’s attention.

Opening details: 

Friday, 24 July 2026 

Time: 18h00 

Venue: 166 Bulwer Road