Norval Foundation has announced the return of a significant exhibition, They Came and Left Footprints, featuring the powerful and evocative works of South African artists Lucas Sithole and Cyprian Shilakoe. Running from 9 May to 21 August 2025, this exhibition invites reflection on memory, ancestry, and the legacy of artists whose voices remain deeply resonant today. Here’s everything you need to know.
About the Exhibition
The title of the exhibition at Norval Foundation is taken from an inscription carved into one of Shilakoe’s sculptures that greets visitors at the entrance. These words – They came and left footprints – pay homage to ancestors who have passed into the spiritual realm, and serve as a reminder of our impermanence, the traces we leave behind, and how we are remembered.
Lucas Sithole and Cyprian Shilakoe were active during the 1960s and ’70s, a period marked by the harsh realities of Apartheid and the dislocation brought by the migratory labour system. Their work is a moving testimony to that era, capturing the fractured realities of communities, the sadness of separation, and the longing for connection amidst social upheaval.
Despite their different paths, a remarkable synergy emerges in the bodies of work of both artists, shown together for the first time in this way – powerful translations of lived experience into artistic expression.
Tall, etiolated figures, a hallmark in both artists’ work, echo the solitude and disconnection felt in the era they lived in. These forms offer haunting narratives of resilience and introspection that still speak to the contemporary moment.
About the Artists
Lucas Sithole (1931–1994) was born in Springs and spent much of his life in KwaZulu-Natal. Initially discouraged from pursuing art, he found his calling in sculpture and eventually trained at the Polly Street Art Centre. Encouraged by figures such as Cecil Skotnes, Sithole’s works gained national and international recognition throughout the 1960s and beyond. Living later in relative isolation near Pongola, he continued to carve until his death in 1994. His work was supported and exhibited by institutions such as Gallery 21 and the Haenggi Foundation.
Cyprian Shilakoe (1946–1972), born at a Lutheran mission near Barberton, studied at Rorke’s Drift Art & Craft Centre. Under the mentorship of Azaria Mbatha, he developed his skills in printmaking and sculpture, embracing themes of loss, longing, and the mystical. Shilakoe’s emotionally charged and otherworldly imagery grappled with the fragmentation of family and community life. His life was tragically cut short in a car accident at the age of 26, but his legacy continues to resonate. He was posthumously honoured with the 1990 Standard Bank Guest Artist award.
Though both Sithole and Shilakoe were featured in the pivotal 1988 exhibition, The Neglected Tradition, their work has rarely received the attention it deserves—until now.
How to book tickets to the Norval Foundation
Norval Foundation offers an annual, affordable membership for single, double and group tickets with special perks such as invitations to exhibition openings and special discounts on guided tours. All pensioners pay half price every Thursday, and African Nationals may need to present their passports to access the special entry fee. See more info here.
Cost: Day Pass – R200pp for African Nationals, R300pp for Internationals, R100pp for young adults aged 18 to 24 years, kids under 18 enter free. Book via Webtickets
When: Running from 9 May – 21 August 2025 | Wed to Sat 10am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 4pm | Closed on Mon & Tues
Where: Norval Foundation, 4 Steenberg Road, Tokai, Cape Town
Website: norvalfoundation.org
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 087 654 5900
Instagram: @norvalfoundation
Facebook: @NorvalFoundation
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