Through swirling ribbons of color, headless figures dance among densely patterned backdrops, their hands grasping and open. Dressed in tight, form-fitting costumes, these anonymous protagonists are bound by their elaborately carved environments, a metaphor for the experience of South African communities that artist Sthenjwa Luthuli (previously) finds fruitful.

Luthuli is known for his wood-block paintings brimming with vibrant color and texture. Through a meditative, meticulous process of gouging small pieces of MDF, he renders dense, intricate motifs that envelop his figures in a swath of markings. The artist is particularly interested in African spiritualism and the tenuous relationship between freedom and control for minority communities.

Next month at Norval Foundation in Cape Town, Luthuli with present a collection of works made between 2010 and 2015. His first institutional solo exhibition, Umkhangu uses African cosmology and symbolism as its guide, considering how a birthmark can be seen as an ancestral presence or a sign of one’s destiny.

Umkhangu opens on September 11. Find more from the artist on Instagram.