Madoda Fani pays tribute to his Xhosa lineage with Dumalitshona at Southern Guild

Southern Guild presents Dumalitshona, a solo exhibition of ceramics by Madoda Fani, running from November 22, 2025 – January 29, 2026, at their Cape Town location. “Fani summons a new anthropomorphic language holding weight and buoyancy in equal measure, a symbiotic invocation of earth and spirit in tribute to his Xhosa lineage,” notes Southern Guild in the press release.

The title Dumalitshona, meaning ‘beyond matter’, refers to the isibongo (traditional praise name) bestowed upon the contemporary artist by elders in his community in recognition of his achievements. The name signals both a personal and philosophical milestone, reflecting a body of work that balances physical presence with spiritual resonance. “Over the past 10 years, he has established his practice as a sculptural evolution of traditional Nguni pottery, stretching its contours and reimagining the pure expressive form of ceramics beyond functionality,” elaborates the art gallery.

The sculptures in Dumalitshona oscillate between volume and surface, an interrelation underscored by their uniformly dark, unglazed exteriors. At first glance, these appear carved from timber or cast in bronze, only revealing their clay origins upon closer inspection. “Fani hand-builds each form intuitively, foregoing preparatory sketches or working to a predetermined idea. He describes the meditative act of sculpting and carving as the experience of being partly here and partly elsewhere, saying, "Time stills itself. I am entirely at ease. The clay tells me where it wants to go," the gallery notes.

Works on display at the art exhibition twist and sway: some rise from ample rounded bases into elongated necks, others balance on tripod legs rooted in the earth, while several taper into sharp, hook-like terminations. Poised between stillness and movement, the pieces of contemporary art feel suspended between this world and the next. A subtle rhythm runs through the show, animating each work through incised markings and rippling contours that appear to extend beyond the sculptures' physical boundaries. This cadence reflects the cyclical nature of clay itself—an earth-born material in constant transformation, moving from soil to form, fire to hand, and back again.

“It is the rhythm of paradox: of surrender and precision, stillness and movement, fullness and void. Within this cadence is the meditation of making, the patient conversation between mind and medium,” Southern Guild continues.

Fani’s aesthetic influences remain consistent across his oeuvre, drawing from Samurai armour, H. R. Giger’s alien forms and insect anatomy. These references lend the sculptures an architectural complexity that feels at once organic and mechanical. Dumalitshona represents a culminating point in Fani’s artistic trajectory, revealing a maker who listens as deeply to his material as he commands it. “Fani’s practice is one born not only of skill, but of surrender; a divine yielding to a lifelong apprenticeship in rhythm, patience and fire,” the gallery concludes.