WINDHOEK– Art exhibitions riding on the story of the oppressed and most exploited communities across the world has become quite the trend.
One such art collection is the What We See exhibition of archival material by Anette Hoffman currently showcasing at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) with the apparent aim to sensitise viewers of what has happened in the past. The exhibition in bad taste chronicles in no particular order Germany’s racial studies on the “Hottentots” and the Buschmanner between 1891 and 1988. According to the exhibition, the brain behind the racial study, Hans Lichtenecker, who called himself an artist as opposed to being a scientist, produced life casts of heads and voice recordings, especially the male Khoegowab, the latter which he regarded as the “racial voices”. Lichtenecker’s rather peculiar way of art also looked at the aging Rehoboth Basters after being commissioned by the German Raciologist, Eugen Fischer.
The pictures on display not only trigger a profound sadness when coming face to face with what one’s ancestors suffered at the audacity of the German oppressors but also opens new wounds if not scratching in the hurt of the very existing ones. The most unsettling realisation is to see how the San communities suffered at the hands of former oppressors, knowing fully well how they still suffer in what is ought to be their ancestral land.
The exhibition that has been on show since August 5, is closing today 27September 2013.
By Jemima Beukes