When we spoke with Miné Kleynhans last year she told us, "I really enjoy the idea that people can play with my art." And this carries through in Augury After Autogogues, her solo at Pretoria Arts Museum in recognition of her winning Sasol New Signatures 2024. Kleynhans has an incredible ability to balance a tongue-in-cheek playfulness with sincerity, and her interactive work makes seeing her work in person far more provoking, and entertaining, than your usual gallery visit.
In Augury After Autogogues, Kleynhans' talents are on full display as she brings three new installations to the Museum. Where last year's installation focused on the theme of resentment, Augury After Autogogues looks at the idea of 'personal truth'. Here she introduces the Autogogue, 'a self-guided mystic who looks inward for meaning'.
The exhibition presents us with the Autogogues' tools of divination, each of which can be used to gain insights and reflect on the world, people around us, and ourselves. They promise us a higher understanding of ourselves, but whether or not they deliver on this front is another question.
It is this question that undercuts the playfulness of Augury After Autogogues, as Kleynhans asks if, in a world where information is a millisecond away, we have lost knowledge of ourselves.
Augury After Autogogues is on show until Sun, Nov 2, 2025 at Pretoria Arts Museum. The exhibition runs concurrently with the 2025 Sasol New Signatures exhibition, which includes the final 105 artworks selected from across South Africa. Schedule a visit as soon as possible! Kleynhans' interactive works need to be seen in person for the full experience.
