Ancient Songs Awakening V, 2023
The narratives within the vivid paintings of Mthiyane are relayed through layers of texture and meaning simultaneously, owed to his use of discarded found objects and earthly elements of soil and wind.
Thokozani Mthiyane is a Johannesburg-based multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of The Enso Circle. Raised in Clermont Township near Durban, his artistic journey was shaped by time spent in the studios of renowned painters Sfiso KaMkame and Thami Jali. Their mentorship influenced his early creative development, setting the foundation for his expressive and philosophical approach to art.
Mthiyane’s work spans painting, poetry, music, and dance, reflecting his deep engagement with artistic storytelling. He gained early experience in children's theatre with the Madcaps Educational Theatre Company and held his first solo exhibition at the Flat Gallery in Durban. His journey as a trilingual poet and performer has taken him across the world, including performing French poetry translated into Zulu at Cave Poésie in Toulouse and touring with the Inzalo dance company in Holland. In 2001 and 2004, he returned to France to perform the works of Jacques Prévert in Hérouville, near Normandy.