Some exhibitions ask you to look. MAYIYE invites you to feel.

In this compelling solo exhibition, Banele Njadayi presents a deeply personal collection of paintings and drawings that explore the stories we carry, the people who shape us, and the journeys that define our lives.

Working with oil, acrylic, and collage, Banele creates richly layered works that reflect on memory, resilience, motherhood, labour, migration and healing. His art honours the quiet strength found in everyday life, celebrating the mothers, workers, families and communities whose stories are often left untold.

The title, MAYIYE, speaks of movement. It is a call to let go, to move forward and to embrace transformation, while acknowledging the ancestors and lived experiences that continue to guide us. Throughout the exhibition, moments of vulnerability sit alongside hope, creating space for reflection, connection and renewal.

Drawing inspiration from his own experiences and the lives of those around him, Banele’s work is both intimate and universal. Influenced by artists such as Victor Wang, Emmanuel Michel and Michel Del Campo, while paying tribute to African masters including Gerard Sekoto, George Pemba and Sam Nhlengethwa, he brings together expressive mark-making, layered textures and powerful figurative imagery that speak to the complexity of contemporary Black life.

Rather than offering easy answers, MAYIYE opens a conversation. It encourages us to slow down, to look more closely, and to consider the shared experiences that connect us all.

Art on Target is proud to present this thought-provoking exhibition, introducing audiences to a powerful new body of work by one of South Africa’s emerging contemporary voices.

We invite you to experience MAYIYE and discover a collection that is as moving as it is memorable.