From 9 to 30 November, Everard Read Cape Town and 16 on Lerotholi will present a collaborative exhibition by Ricky Dyaloyi across both galleries, titled Impilo ifun’abomeleleyo (Living Requires Strength), which the artist describes as “a collective tale of strength in the face of life’s trials”.
The title makes Dyaloyi’s pre-occupations plain, as he continues to explore the unerring dynamism and apparently indomitable spirit of everyday citizens in urban South Africa. “Each piece visually narrates the diverse stories of survival, from overcoming marginalization to embracing hope,” he explains. His paintings serve as both homage and exhortation to the workers, commuters, the street vendors, that surge through his canvases, at once legion and yet individually depicted and dignified by his hand.
Dyaloyi’s genius is his ability to see how the trees make up the wood. The individuals in his multitudes are teased out just enough for us to recognise each figure as both idiosyncratic and archetypal. Because he relays stories about everyday resilience and endurance being the sum of a people’s constituents, all the protagonists get equal treatment and have equal significance. As if to amplify this, Dyaloyi has included in this body of work a selection of portraits which, juxtaposed with his crowd scenes, invite us to zoom in and single out people in the crowd, and recognise or imagine each of their unique contributions to the story.
“Through these visual narratives,” Dyaloyi comments, “I explore the shared human spirit that persists, adapts, and thrives – an artistic ode to the daily perseverance that guides us toward a better tomorrow.”
