The young and talented Frans Uunona is definitely living his best dream through art.
“As a child, I would sit for hours sketching and because of that I’d say practice makes perfect,” said the motivated 32-year-old Uunona, who is also a model and the De Beers Shinning Light jewellery design award winner in 2018.
Since graduating from the College of the Arts (COTA) back in 2013 with a diploma in fine arts, Uunona became an educator in arts at Windhoek International School for a year and in 2016 moved to teach at Highland Christian School.
Born in the small village Oshikushashipya, near Oshakati in the northern part of Namibia on Independence Day, Uunona decided to commit to painting in 2020 after the pandemic hit the country hard, because he felt he was not being creative enough.
Uunona and his friend and colleague Petrus Amuthenu whom he met at COTA and now share a studio space with, currently have an exhibition running at the Namibian Arts Association Gallery under the theme ‘Passing Through’ which depicts emotions and feelings.
The duo decided to put their work out there for the world to see after working on many pieces together, including a few notable public murals on various buildings is Windhoek.
The work of these two artists is intertwined by their vibrant exploration of colour in ink, oil, acrylic paint and airbrush on canvas, fabriano paper and headboard.
“We want to express and share our thoughts, emotions and skills to appreciate the beauty around us,” said Uunona.
He, however, feels that Namibian artists are not taken seriously and demanded they be treated fairly like those with nine to five jobs.
Uunona hopes to inspire the upcoming artists and said “they should believe in themselves, prove to themselves that they can do anything they put their minds and hearts to with dedication and focus”.
The ‘Passing Through’ exhibition opened on 13 October and runs until 3 November 2022.