THK Gallery is currently hosting Solstice: Part 1, a curated group exhibition that investigates the precise moment of maximum tension before a total shift in state. Using the celestial phenomenon of the solstice as its primary metaphor, the show explores how evolution is not merely a planetary event but a deeply personal, physical experience of transition.
The exhibition features a multidisciplinary collection including Tshepiso Moropa, Duncan Wylie, Abdus Salaam, Emily Rae Smith Labuschagne, Driaan Claassen, Alexia Smit, and Sahlah Davids. Working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, these artists present works that pulse with the energy of duality—where the height of vitality and the onset of decay occupy the same space.
The Architecture of Change
Central to the exhibition is the concept of “temporal metacognition”—an active awareness of time as it moves from the immediate present into an unfolding future. This is reflected in the featured works, such as Tshepiso Moropa’s The Ride Home (2024), a digital print on Hanhemühle Photo Rag that captures a sense of suspended journeying. Similarly, Duncan Wylie’s Untitled I (Harare street scene) (2025), rendered in oil on copper, provides a turbulent yet resilient look at urban evolution.
The gallery’s presentation emphasizes a cyclical narrative, moving through:
- Emergence and Peak: The moment a state reaches its fullest expression.
- Dissolution and Waning: The inevitable surrender to the next phase.
- Regeneration: The rebirth that follows a period of decay.
Transition to Part 2
The exhibition functions as a living continuum. Solstice: Part 1 is scheduled to conclude its run on the 15th of January. This will be immediately followed by the opening of Solstice: Part 2 on the 16th of January, effectively mirroring the very “solstitial” transition the artworks seek to describe. This second phase promises to further the investigation into these thresholds, offering a fresh installation and a continued look at the inherent duality of transformation.
Solstice: Part 1 is currently open to the public at THK Gallery, located at 52 Waterkant Street, Cape Town.
