Bode Projects

Discover a curated selection of artworks from Mhlonishwa Zulu’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ 🪾

‘I am exploring objects as sites for both meaning generation and degradation. I have been very interested in the simultaneous interplay between both realities and how viewpoints can shift which one is experienced and propelled forward. Mundane or dilapidated objects act as relics or archives that seem lost to the passage of time. But where do the narratives of these things go? If they remain, in what capacity do the remnants exist? Who do they hold relevance for, and how does that relevance sustain itself?’ - Mhlonishwa Zulu

Zulu’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ is open in Cape Town until 22 August 2026. Visit us to explore this extraordinary body of work in person. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Artworks:
Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘Baroque’, 2026
Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘The Great Negotiation’, 2026
Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘Atlas’, 2026
Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘The thousand yard stare’, 2026
Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘Conflict of the Postured’, 2026

‘Tabula Rasa’ Installation Views Part 1/2🪞

Within ‘Tabula Rasa’, Mhlonishwa Zulu strips his approach back to the ‘barebones’ of painting. Largely influenced by the expansive scenery of KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town, the artist maps out dreamlike planes through colour and light. Zulu employs distance and distortion to shift the balance of his compositions, ensuring that his audience is never on solid ground. Mundane and dilapidated objects situated in the works act as relics and archives - at once familiar and strange. Gently suspended in time, these objects defy preconceived understandings of form and weight.

Zulu’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ is open in Cape Town until 22 August 2026. Visit us to explore this extraordinary body of work in person.

Thero Makepe at the Houston Center for Photography 📸

Today we celebrate Thero Makepe’s inclusion in the 43rd Center Annual group exhibition, ‘A Story of Mothers and Fathers’, on view until 16 August 2026 at the Houston Center for Photography (HCP) in Texas, USA.

Curated by Asha Iman Veal, this esteemed presentation highlights thirty-five global artists whose exceptional photographic work provides an insightful commentary on the contemporary sociocultural milieu.

Makepe’s striking work, with its powerful explorations of familial archives and political histories, provides an intimate contribution to ‘A Story of Mothers and Fathers’, offering a potent addition to the exhibition’s study of parental legacy, ancestral memory and the intricate, generational relationships that shape the world.

Slide 1
Detail: Thero Makepe, ‘Father & Daughter’, 2023, Pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, 37 x 55.4 cm, Edition of 7 + 2 APs

Slide 2
Installation image, courtesy of the Houston Center for Photography

Slide 3
Detail: Thero Makepe, ‘Phomolo Sello’, 2024, Pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, 77 x 115 cm, Edition of 5 + 2 APs

Thank You Cape Town | ‘Tabula Rasa’ by Mhlonishwa Zulu is officially open 🤍

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday for the highly anticipated opening of ‘Tabula Rasa’.

The energy was incredible and it was absolutely wonderful to see everyone engage so deeply with this extraordinary body of work.

We are so proud of Mhlonishwa, and humbled to be part of offering ‘Tabula Rasa’ to the world.

The exhibition is open until 22 August 2026, and we welcome the opportunity to share the experience with you.

Operating Hours:
Monday-Tuesday: By appointment only
Wednesday-Friday: 10:00-17:00
Saturday: 10:00-13:00
Sunday: Closed

Reach out to us at [email protected] to arrange a viewing or request a full catalogue of the show.

Save the Date: 11 July 2026 | Opening Cape Town: Tabula Rasa by Mhlonishwa Zulu

Bode Gallery invites you to the opening of ‘Tabula Rasa’, the highly anticipated second solo exhibition by South African artist Mhlonishwa Zulu.

Mhlonishwa Zulu (b. 2002, South Africa) is a Cape Town-based artist with roots deeply entrenched in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Moving fluidly between surrealism and magical realism, the artist delves into the intersections of fantasy, faith and lived experience.

Taking its title from the Latin phrase for ‘blank slate’, Tabula Rasa explores a core pillar of empiricism. The body of work actively challenges the notion of ‘innate ideas’ - the belief that knowledge is hardwired into us from birth - positing instead that human identity is entirely sculpted by the friction of lived experience.

The details for the event are as follows:
Time: 10:30 – 13:30
Date: Saturday, 11 July 2026
Venue: Bode Gallery, 1 Perth Street, Maitland, Cape Town

We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you.

Please direct related inquiries to [email protected].

Artwork detail: Mhlonishwa Zulu, ‘Camaraderie at arms’, 2026

Image courtesy of the artist and Nicholas Hill.

Now Showing: Thero Makepe’s ‘We Didn’t Choose to be Born Here’ at JAVETT-UP 🌾

Running until 13 February 2027, ‘We Didn’t Choose to be Born Here’ traces the diverging paths of Makepe’s family across Botswana and South Africa. Revolutionary sentiments and sensitive familial portrayals become an act of excavation, bringing together the personal and the political; exploring the cost that comes with both.

Congratulations, Thero, on this remarkable institutional milestone. A full exhibition catalogue is available on request.

Curated by Storm Janse van Rensburg
Installation images courtesy of Javett-UP

Upcoming | Thero Makepe solo exhibition at JAVETT UP

Congratulations to on his upcoming solo exhibition at (Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa), titled ‘We Didn't Choose to be Born Here’. Curated by , ‘We Didn’t Choose to be Born Here’ will run from 14 May 2026 - 15 February 2027.

Thero Makepe (b. 1996, Gaborone, Botswana) is a visual artist whose practice reflects on personal and societal narratives of his upbringing in Botswana and South Africa. Makepe’s contributions to the contemporary photographic tradition have since earned numerous prestigious awards and residencies, among them: Upcoming: Headlands Artist Residency (2026), pH Museum Photobook Award (2025), Joop Swart Masterclass with World Press Photo (2025), British Journal of Photography Award at FORMAT25 (2025), Prince Claus Seed Award (2024), Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam - FOAM Talent (2024-2025), MEP – Collection Gervanne + Matthias Leridon Collection - Cité internationale des arts Residency (2023), The Claire and Edoardo Villa Will Trust (2022), Blurring the Lines Finalist (2020), Simon Gerson Prize (2019), The Diane & Charles Frankel Fellowship, and the Tierney Fellowship Award (2019).

Makepe’s œuvre has received significant critical recognition, with features in publications including Aperture, British Journal of Photography, Contemporary&, FOAM Magazine, Courrier international, Aesthetica Magazine, Metal Magazine, and Booooooom. The artist’s first monograph, ‘We Didn’t Choose to be Born Here’ will be published by in 2026.

Discover more about Makepe and his work on our Artsy profile. A broader catalogue of his work is available on request.

Senzeni Marasela at the 61st Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys. ✦

Seven large-scale textile works suspended through the full height of the Arsenale — red wool hand-stitched onto tjali, mixed-fabric ceremonial blankets. Each title names a South African mining disaster: location, year, lives lost. The stitch patterns trace the slopes of collapsed mines. Cloth as cartography. Waiting made monumental.

We are so glad she is here.

📍 On view through 22 November 2026.

Georgina Maxim at the 61st Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys. ✦

Cloth cut, layered, and rebuilt stitch by stitch through dhungemutunge — the Shona mending technique that closes what is torn. In the Arsenale, her work fills the space quietly and completely. Inherited garments becoming an archive of memory, presence, and searching.

We couldn't be prouder to see Georgina's work in Venice. It holds the room — and holds so much more.

Artwork details: Borrowed Books and Underlined Statements, textile and mixed media, 2024–2026

📍 On view through 22 November 2026.