Many Libuta’s provocative new exhibition The Red Apple opens in Cape Town in June
With some governments rolling back climate protections at an alarming pace, the question of how human choices affect the planet has never felt more critical. Against this global backdrop, celebrated Congolese-born South African-based artist Many Libuta presents a timely new solo exhibition, The Red Apple.
Libuta describes the show as a visual meditation on temptation and environmental consequence. It draws on the biblical story of Adam and Eve – not to moralise but to reframe the ancient metaphor in light of modern ecological collapse. The recurring motif of the suspended red apple becomes a silent question hanging before each viewer: what temptations do we resist or surrender to in our daily environmental choices? ‘Humanity exists not separate from nature but as an integrated, dependent extension of it,’ Libuta says. ‘When we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves.’
This is the artist’s second major solo exhibition in Cape Town, following his acclaimed 2022 show Women and Nature, at AVA Gallery in Cape Town, which focused on the vital role women play in environmental stewardship. While the previous body of work featured celestial skies and feminine subjects, The Red Apple takes a more grounded and urgent tone.
Libuta curated the exhibition himself, selecting works that serve as ‘individual messages’ within a larger narrative about environmental responsibility. ‘Through my work, I want visitors to feel how deeply we are connected with nature and understand that harming the environment is ultimately an act of self-destruction,’ he explains.
The Red Apple runs from 5 June to 31 July at Sisonke Gallery in the Cape Heritage Hotel, 90 Bree Street, Cape Town. Admission is free and open to the public. The opening is on Wednesday 4 June at 17:30
