Ande Magoso brings Zulu folklore to life in new exhibition

Kokstad-born visual artist and storyteller Ande Magoso, who is now based in Durban, will exhibit his work alongside other artists at the KZNSA Gallery on Friday.

KwaZulu-Natal visual artist Ande Magoso is drawing on Zulu folklore, ancestral memory and the complexities of cultural identity in a new collaborative exhibition that brings traditional storytelling into the contemporary art space.

Titled uMbulumakheqe II: Sound, Story, Image, the exhibition explores the ancient Zulu tradition of izinganekwane, oral stories traditionally shared by elders after nightfall.

Working alongside poet and storyteller Mbali Malimela, Magoso reimagines this night-time storytelling tradition within a gallery setting, using painting, soundscapes and live narration to explore the relationship between memory, identity, love, longing and loss.

The exhibition also features works by artist Ntobeko Chiliza and opens on Friday at 6pm at the KZNSA Gallery's Main Gallery in Glenwood, Durban.

The exhibition draws on the folklore warning that telling izinganekwane during daylight would cause the storyteller to grow horns.

At the centre of the project is uMbulumakheqe, a figure that exists between worlds, lineages and different forms of belonging.

The exhibition draws on the folklore warning that telling izinganekwane during daylight would cause the storyteller to grow horns. By bringing these stories into the light, the artists invite audiences to reconsider the place of oral traditions in contemporary society.

Born in Kokstad in 1997, Magoso grew up between Kokstad, uMzimkhulu and KwaNgcolosi in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. His upbringing across culturally distinct parts of KwaZulu-Natal has shaped an artistic practice concerned with intercultural identity, migration, ritual and belonging.

Visual artist Ande Magoso combines painting, soundscapes and live storytelling to explore memory, identity, love, longing and loss.

Born to a Xhosa mother and a Zulu father, he explores the intersections and contradictions of cultural heritage through surreal figures that combine human, goat and sheep forms.

These recurring hybrid figures serve as metaphors for cultural overlap, sacrifice, identity and the complexities of belonging.

His work is influenced by the sepia-toned portraiture of Gerard Bhengu and the oral mythologies of Poet Laureate Dr Mazisi Kunene, particularly Amalokotho kaNomkhubulwane.

Magoso describes his approach to painting as a form of speculative storytelling, in which folklore, memory and absurdity coexist in psychologically charged spaces.

"At the centre of the exhibition is the story of Mbulumakheqe, a character whose journey unfolds through a series of encounters, landscapes and experiences. Through the collaboration with poet and storyteller Mbali Malimela, we have brought together different forms of storytelling, allowing the narrative to exist through both visual and spoken language.

"Visitors can expect to encounter paintings, characters and environments that form part of a larger world, accompanied by sound that adds another dimension to the experience. Ultimately, I want people to feel as though they are stepping into a world and encountering a story, rather than simply viewing an exhibition," said Magoso.

Magoso said he sees his practice as an ongoing process of building a world.

"Each painting contributes something to it, whether through a character, a landscape or an encounter. Rather than treating each artwork as an isolated image, I am interested in how these works relate to one another and gradually reveal a larger universe."

Magoso developed his visual arts practice through the African Art Centre Development Programme and The BAT Centre's Artist-in-Residency Programme in Durban. He also completed a residency at the Phansi Museum in 2023.

In 2026, he participated in an international residency at Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen in Germany, where he produced new bodies of work and engaged with the international contemporary art scene.

Some of Ande Magoso’s works, heavily influenced by the Zulu oral storytelling tradition of izinganekwane, will be showcased at the KZNSA Gallery.

During his time in Europe, he also secured private art commissions, extending his reach beyond South Africa.

His work has found a home in several institutional and private collections, including the National Museum in Bloemfontein, Bürgerstiftung Schöppingen in Germany and the Phansi Museum in Durban.

His work is also held in the Ditau Collection in Cape Town.

Through uMbulumakheqe II: Sound, Story, Image, Magoso and his collaborators continue to explore how traditional stories can speak to contemporary experiences, while preserving the cultural memories and oral histories that shape identity.