Approaching the most recent exhibition by Johannesburg-based artist Khanyisile Mawhayi, one expected to be overwhelmed by blocks of bright color—the audacious blues, yellows, and pinks associated with her father’s people, the Tsonga of southern Africa. Instead, audiences were politely greeted by hues that, while bright, bold, and vivid, were nonetheless tamer than anticipated. In the spirit of reclamation, the artist deliberately uses the bright colors that are often a source of ridicule directed at the Tsonga; in so doing, she seeks to dissolve and obscure the stereotypical and often derogatory