Norval Foundation presents Brett Murray: Wild Life, a major exhibition showcasing more than eighty sculptures from four decades of the artist’s career. Opening 6 December 2025 in Cape Town.
Norval Foundation is closing out the year with a major moment. Brett Murray: Wild Life opens on 6 December, bringing more than eighty sculptures from one of South Africa’s sharpest, most talked-about artists into one space.
The show, curated by Karel Nel, is the first time in years that Murray’s sculptural world is presented at this scale. It spans four decades of work, from the 1980s to now, a full journey through his humour, his politics, and his ability to hold a mirror up to society using animals as stand-ins for us.
Museum Director Caroline Greyling calls it “a veritable menagerie,” built in close collaboration with the artist to show both his precision and his razor-sharp wit.
A world of animals, humans, and everything in between
Murray has always used satire as a tool, but Wild Life feels deeper. The sculptures are playful at first glance, primates, elephants, pigs, bulls, and strange hybrids, but the humour sits right next to something tender and human.
Each piece hints at something bigger. Pride. Fear. Absurdity. Desire. The way people behave when no one is watching.
Curator Karel Nel says it best: “Brett’s sculptures use the language of humour and parody, but beneath that surface lies a profound sense of empathy.”
Beyond politics: a closer look at the artist’s evolution
Although many know Murray for his headline-making two-dimensional political work, Wild Life shifts the focus to his sculptures, the part of his practice that is quieter, slower, and more personal.
The exhibition moves from the heated climate of the ’80s to the more reflective energy of his recent years. Across the timeline, the references stay eclectic: Disney cartoons. Asian vinyl toys. Brâncuși’s clean, polished forms. West African Baule figures.
It’s a mix that explains why Murray’s sculptures feel both familiar and strange, part pop culture, part mythology, part social commentary.
A show that laughs with us, and at us
Wild Life isn’t about animals rather it’s about humans pretending not to be animals. About the stories we tell ourselves. About the parts we try to hide.
The sculptures invite you to laugh, then look again. They ask what we’re afraid of, what we desire, and how ridiculous we can be.
The exhibition team includes curator Karel Nel, with support from Carmen Joubert and Tayla Hollamby, in partnership with Everard Read Gallery.
Key Details
Opening: 6 December 2025
Venue: Norval Foundation, Cape Town
