Godide

Through Godide, Phumulani Ntuli invites the viewer to a visual exploration where animation and collages collide, while skilfully navigating the convergence of documentary and fiction. Playful and uncanny, this immersive experience reshapes the past through a contemporary lens. Meticulously tracing unseen imprints, such as footprints, marks and gestures, which are often overlooked by conventional painting and traditional storytelling, it prods provokingly into the complexities of representation.

The result is a stop-motion odyssey, following Godide, a fictional character who travels through imaginary geographies. Exiled after the Portuguese overthrow, Godide’s narrative unfolds against a backdrop of colonial erasure, unearthing buried artefacts and exposing the tension of heritage. This archival excavation constructs a poignant reflection on historical narratives confronting the impact of colonialist regimes. 

Godide will be presented alongside Cloud Migration, another work by Phumulani Ntuli. Ntuli uses them as a starting point for examining contemporary image-making in South Africa.

– Vanja Kaludjercic

Interested in more? Join our Art Directions Talk on Friday 26 January. Click here for the details.