A raw and deeply considered solo exhibition by distinguished artist Thokozani Mthiyane, Residuals – A Study in Flesh, Form and Fracture at Asisebenze Art Gallery is the culmination of a four-year study into the social and economic realities of Johannesburg’s inner city, with a focus on the devastating impact of synthetic heroin use among young people in the area. See our art round-up for events taking place alongside the exhibition.

Rather than observing from a distance, Mthiyane returned again and again, to sit with lives marked by precarity, movement, and loss. Relationships were fleeting, photography often refused, and faces constantly changing. As a result, memory became the medium as Mthiyane worked from recall to construct figures not as portraits, but possibilities of existence.

Unfolding in chapters, the exhibition traces questions of value, presence, control, and recognition, quietly interrogating how worth is shaped within specific socio-economic conditions. For a more in-depth look at the exhibition and Mthiyane's practice, read our feature here.

A number of events will take place alongside the exhibition:
Sat, Jan 31 10:30–15:30 – Exhibition opening with a performance by the artist
Thu, Feb 5 17:30–19:00 – First Thursdays at Asisebenze Art Gallery with a short film screening and poetry reading by the artist.
Sat, Feb 21 10:30–15:30 – Short film viewing and panel discussion
Sat, Feb 28 10:30–15:30 – Exhibition closing

Residuals opens at Asisebenze Art Gallery, 34 Loveday Street, opposite Rand Club, on Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 10:30 with a live performance by the artist. The show runs until Sat, Feb 28, 2026.