Manyaku
Mashilo
Manyaku Mashilo was born in 1991 in Limpopo, South Africa and is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mashilo’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses mixed media painting, drawing, and collage, addressing themes of spiritual identity, memory, ancestry, community and be-longing. Drawing on inspiration from photographic archives, she depicts scenes where imaginary characters migrate through fantastical worlds between unknown places and rituals of shared belief. Mashilo’s characters are often represented through portraits set in abstract cosmological landscapes. Her scenes are visual stories that offer a plurality of imagined futures; piecing together mappings of time, place, space and making sense of a rich tradition of African spirituality and identities.
Notable group exhibitions include: Mother Tongues at Southern Guild in Los Angeles, USA (2024); Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art at MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora) in San Francisco, USA (2023); Africa Supernova at Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort, Netherlands (2023); Rites of Passage, curated by Péjú Oshin at Gagosian Gallery in London, UK (2023); SCENORAMA, curated by Gabi Ngcobo at the Javett Centre in Pretoria, South Africa (2022); 40 under 40 at Krone | WHATIFTHEWORLD in Tulbagh, South Africa (2021);The Medium is the Message curated by Azu Nwagbogu at Unit London in London, UK (2020).
Art fairs Mashilo has participated in include: The Armory Show in New York, USA (2023 and 2024 upcoming); EXPO CHICAGO in Chicago, USA (2023 and 2024); Investec Cape Town International Art Fair in Cape Town, South Africa (2023 and 2024); 1-54 African Contemporary Art Fair (2022) and ArtXLagos in Lagos, Nigeria (2021).
In 2023 Mashilo presented her solo exhibition An Order of Being at Southern Guild in Cape Town, South Africa. Other past solo exhibitions include, There are other worlds they have not told you of, at 99 Loop Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, and The Possibility of a Journey, curated by Tammy Langtry as part of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, South Africa.
Mashilo’s work forms part of the Pizutti Collection, Schulting Art Collection, Tiroche Deleon Collection and The Suzie Wong Collection, as well as private collections in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Korea and United States of America.
Contact
manyaku.mash@gmail.com
CV
b. 1991, Limpopo, South Africa.
Lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS & PRESENTATIONS
2023
An Order of Being, Southern Guild, Cape Town, South Africa.
2020
There are other worlds they have not told you of, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
The Possibility of a Journey, curated by Tammy Langtry, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Oudtshroon, South Africa.
2019
THERE’S AN EXHIBITION IN MY KITCHEN, Breaking Bread, Cape Town, South Africa.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS & PRESENTATIONS
2024
Mother Tongues, Southern Guild, Los Angeles, USA.
EXPO Chicago, Chicago, USA.
2023
Spectrum: On Color and Contemporary Art, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Fransisco, USA.
Africa Supernova, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Rites of Passage, Gagosian, London, UK.
The Armory Show, New York, USA.
EXPO Chicago, Chicago, USA.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa.
2022
SCENORAMA, curated by Gabi Ngcobo, Javett Center, Pretoria, South Africa.
2021
ArtXLagos (SMO Contemporary), Lagos, Nigeria.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair (99 Loop Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), South Africa.
40 under 40, Krone, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Twee Jonge Gezellen Estate, Tulbagh, South Africa
2020
Prizm Art Fair, NOIR, NOIR: Meditations on African Cinema and its Influence on Visual Art , curated by Mikhaile Solomon and William Cordova, Miami, USA.
The Medium is the Message, curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Unit London, London, UK.
Liminality in Infinite Space, curated by Azu Nwagbogu, African Artists Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria.
2019
She Impressions, The Project Space, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2018
Sunday Service, GUS, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The Numbers Exhibition, Hazard Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2017
La Gravitas, La Provence Gallery, Franshoek, South Africa.
COLLECTIONS
Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Suzie Wong Collection, Kingston, Jamaica.
Schulting Art Collection, Netherlands.