SOLO is one of the curated sections of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, bringing together ten individual presentations united by a shared theme. For the 2026 edition,that theme is “Echoes of Humanity.”
Under this title, Celine Seror explores a simple yet urgent question: in a world that moves fast and speaks loudly, what would happen if we truly listened? SOLO becomes an invitation to pause and to feel the reverberations of stories and memories that connectus across time and place.
Artists to watch:
Together, these four artists embody different dimensions of Echoes of Humanity. Each, in her own way, approaches art as a form of listening to ancestry, to silence, to the elements, and to the urgencies of our time.
Owanto
The Gabonese artist returns to painting, her “first language”, in her SOLO presentation titled Traces of the Timeless. After years dedicated to socially engaged projects, this body of work marks a deeply personal shift. In the context of Echoes of Humanity, painting becomes an act of listening: an intuitive dialogue between gesture, matter, andmemory, where presence precedes narrative.
Manyaku Mashilo
In her solo installation Here I Saw My Ancestors First, Manyaku Mashilo explores femininity, ancestry, and inherited memory through layered figurative paintings. Herwarm and symbolically charged compositions draw from personal and cultural histories rooted in Southern Africa. The figures she depicts feel like they carry stories resonatingacross generations.
Nola Ayoola
Through carefully constructed compositions and a refined visual language, Nigerian artist Nola Ayoola’s installation titled Reverberations carries a sense of introspectionand psychological depth. It can be read as an echo of lived experience shaped by movement across cultures. In the context of Echoes of Humanity, Ayoola reminds usthat listening also means acknowledging complexity: the multiple histories and inner landscapes that form who we are.
Raquel Maulwurf
While the fair is anchored on the African continent, it felt essential that Echoes ofHumanity extend beyond geographical borders. Dutch artist Raquel Maulwurf’s installation, New Visions on Humanity, speaks to environmental fragility and the instability of the present moment which are concerns deeply relevant to contemporary Africa and the world at large. Here, the echo becomes global and a reminder that ecological and existential questions transcend borders.
Additional:
One of the special elements of SOLO 2026 is that visitors won’t just see the works —they’ll hear them too. Each artist has created a unique sound piece — a voice recording, a composition, or an environmental soundscape — accessible through a QR code in their booth. This means that experiencing the art becomes intimate and immersive. You might stand in front of a painting while listening to the artist’s voice, or hear sounds that shaped the work itself.In a space often filled with conversation and movement, these sound moments encourage stillness. They transform the fair into something more personal — almost like stepping into someone else’s inner world.
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