Thokozani Mthiyane

Thokozani Mthiyane is a Johannesburg-based multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of The Enso Circle. Working across painting, poetry, music, movement, and performance, his practice is rooted in expressionism and shaped by lived experience, memory, migration, and the emotional landscape of urban life in South Africa.

Born and raised in Clermont Township near Durban, Mthiyane developed his artistic foundation in the studios of influential painters Sfiso KaMkame and Thami Jali. Their mentorship played a significant role in shaping his visual language and approach to art-making. Mthiyane’s career has evolved through multiple artistic disciplines.

He began performing in children’s theatre with the Madcap’s Educational Theatre Company before holding his first solo exhibition at the Flat Gallery in Durban. His creative practice moves fluidly between visual art, spoken word, music, and dance, reflecting a deeply interdisciplinary approach.

Internationally, Mthiyane has performed in France and the Netherlands, including collaborations with the Inzalo Dance Company in Holland. In Toulouse, he translated and performed French poetry in Zulu at Cave Poésie, and later returned to France in 2001 and 2004 to perform the works of Jacques Prévert in Hérouville, near Normandy. These cross-cultural exchanges continue to inform the rhythm, texture, and narrative depth of his work.