FNB Art Joburg is an annual fixture on South Africa’s cultural calendar, and this year Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is bringing a particularly compelling presentation to the fair.
From 3 to 6 September 2026, the Museum will present A: Black Consciousness of Spacetime, a selection of work by Johannesburg-based artist Nolan Oswald Dennis. The presentation revisits UNDERSTUDIES (2024–2025), Nolan’s first major South African museum solo exhibition, extending its exploration of space, time and the ways knowledge is produced.
Dillon Marsh, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
Nolan’s practice considers space as a relational and transforming field, shaped by geological, ecological, metaphysical, political, social, and pedagogical forces. At the fair, these ideas are explored through two works from 2024: Xenolith (Letsema) and Soft Rock (leNqaba yoMkhosi).
Xenolith (Letsema) takes its subtitle from a Setswana word meaning “voluntarily working together”, with a political history linked to collective labour during South Africa’s liberation struggle. The work was developed collaboratively with members of the Zeitz MOCAA team, challenging conventional ideas of singular authorship and institutional hierarchies.
Seven tightly packed and layered maquettes made from pigmented soil are presented alongside recipe books and a poem by Talia Mzamane from the Museum’s Collections department. The result brings together material, language, memory, and collective knowledge.
Soft Rock (leNqaba yoMkhosi), created in collaboration with artist and writer Vusumzi Nkomo, similarly brings geological matter into conversation with the social and material processes it encounters. Together, the works question fixed definitions of land and matter, instead emphasising relationships, transformation, and knowledge as processes in constant motion.
ECLIPTICS, the first monograph on the work of Nolan Oswald Dennis, published by Zeitz MOCAA in collaboration with Swiss Institute New York and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König. Photos by Slater Studios, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
The presentation also marks the launch of ECLIPTICS, the first monograph dedicated to Nolan’s work. Published by Zeitz MOCAA in collaboration with Swiss Institute New York and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, the publication provides a significant record of the artist’s practice.
ECLIPTICS, the first monograph on the work of Nolan Oswald Dennis, published by Zeitz MOCAA in collaboration with Swiss Institute New York and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König. Photos by Slater Studios, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
Zeitz MOCAA’s presence in Johannesburg extends beyond the fair itself. Its programme includes a conversation with NIROX exploring the place of Ubuntu in law, art and politics, featuring Justice Albie Sachs, Dr Phokeng Setai, Khanyisile Mawhayi, Ithateng Mokgoro of the Yvonne Mokgoro Foundation, and Sven Christian of NIROX.
ECLIPTICS, the first monograph on the work of Nolan Oswald Dennis, published by Zeitz MOCAA in collaboration with Swiss Institute New York and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König. Photos by Slater Studios, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
At the fair, another conversation will explore collective work and knowledge-making through the creation of Xenolith (Letsema), with Talia Mzamane, Collections Administrator at Zeitz MOCAA; Jason Adams, Production Assistant at Zeitz MOCAA; and Motlhoki from Nolan’s studio, moderated by Khanyisile Mawhayi.
Through its presentation at FNB Art Joburg and its wider Johannesburg programme, Zeitz MOCAA is extending its reach beyond Cape Town, giving more audiences the opportunity to engage with contemporary African art.
