We Should All Be Dead

Vela Projects is proud to present We Should All Be Dead, Khanya Zibaya’s debut solo exhibition.

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The Artist’s inventive collage works on paper and experimental photographs propose an intervention in a world saturated by persistent infrastructural decay, spiritual alienation, rising costs, injustice, and neglect. Amidst all these threats, the exhibition reflects the often-forgotten, overlooked, and mundane aspects of life, particularly in Johannesburg’s inner city.

The exhibition title, a statement delivered without judgement, recognises the suffering woven into being, as well as the improbability of its endurance. As Zibaya acknowledges,

"It sometimes feels as though the price of being human is too high. I think sometimes that pain is greater than happiness. We don’t forget pain, despite the behavioural systems we develop - working, getting a job, waking up, etc. We are all somehow held by a responsibility that we did not sign up for, or we are not aware of, but we find ourselves in it, and we must maintain it."

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