Eleven Namibian artists will from 9 March showcase their artwork at the Arts Association for Visual Arts gallery in Cape Town, South Africa.
Titled ‘unmourned bodies’, this landmark exhibition pays homage to the historical links between the Namibian Arts Association (NAA) and the Arts Association for Visual Arts (AVA).
The aim is to seek to redress the colonial presentation of Namibian cultural productions through inclusion, and to highlight the contemporary blurring of art and crafts.
It was conceptualised and proposed by artist and curator Jo Rogge to the AVA in response to their Conscious Curating programme.
Rogge, who will also be exhibiting, told VIBEZ! that it was pertinent to explore these historical links, in particular, an exhibition by the then South West Africa Arts Association (SWAAA) in Cape Town in 1948, and the archives of the Namibia Arts Heritage Trust, which provided the impetus to involve Namibian artists in a research-based project.
The other artists are Maria Caley, Stephane Conradie, Actofel Ilovu, Ju’/hoansi artists, Tangeni Kambudu, Maria Mbereshu, Tuli Mekondjo, Lynette Musukubili, Ndako Nghipandulwa and Rudolf Seibeb.
“In collaboration with the Project Room Namibia, these artists were invited to select and research one of the artworks or artefacts held in the NAA collection, and develop new work in response to the chosen historical work,” she noted.
Asked about the criteria for selection, Rogge said the artists were chosen on the basis of their current work and creative practice, as well as their engagement with non-traditional materials.
“For example, the Ju’/hoansi artists, working with the Omba Arts Trust, were included based on the 1948 exhibition, which included the “‘Native’ section…described as being mostly handcrafts, including copies of rock paintings, amongst others, the White Lady of the Brandberg.”
Each artist has created an artwork in response to their research, with some surprising results.
Established artists Mekondjo and Conradie, each with their accomplished research-based creative practices firmly rooted in their respective cultural and traditional backgrounds, have chosen objects from the collection on which to base their new work for this exhibition.
“Interestingly, young emerging artists Nghipandulwa and Musukubili were inspired by the paintings of Themba Masala and Adolph Jentsch, respectively. Musukubili, who works with recycled plastic waste, says she was struck by the quietude and calm of Jentsch’s painting, and his ability to capture the endless vistas, unique light, and ambiance of Namibia’s expansive landscapes.”
SA-based artist Stephané Conradie was inspired by a painting by Andrew van Wyk.
“I was drawn to Van Wyk’s idealisation of African life. In my research, I have tried to retrace the Rehoboth Basters’ migration to Namibia.
Glissant argues that for creole people, it is difficult to go back to and/or pinpoint the exact moment that cultural exchanges took place. For this reason, many creolised people do not have a full historical understanding of where they come from. My aim in researching the Rehoboth Basters’ migration is to try and envision like Van Wyk, an idealised world in which I could fit in.”
For this exhibition, Rundu-born Caley was inspired by the nkata – the base on which traditional pots rest. Her interest is in the importance of this overlooked object in the everyday lives of women in rural areas.