Wilka Kayoko

Namibia has an extremely rich pool of talented individuals in art and crafts. One of these certain individuals is visual artist and craftsman, Ndako Nghipandulwa. In a recent interview, the visual artist shares his sentiments of the pandemic with unwrap.online. The pandemic is having substantial aftermaths on the art sector, as well as established and upcoming artists. The artist says the impact is being felt by everyone and he is not an exception.

The creative rose to notoriety after one of his pieces of media personality, Maria Nepembe trended on social media. 

His creative process initially begins with him drawing an image onto a board, hammering the nails onto the lines drawn and weaving the different colours of strings in between the nails to create the shades.

“I usually think about the piece for about two days before I start doing it, think about how I am going to go about it and the mistakes I have made in the previous piece to make the next one better,” he said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ndako has suffered a tremendous loss of income as art galleries and shops that he would normally sell his work have been temporarily shut down, in spite of this all, he believes that his artworks transcend monetary value and their true values are those of sentiment and gratification.

The extensive cancellation of in-person occasions has implicated numerous careers with independent artists who depend on gigs, events, and physical locations to pay their bills. Even though creatives have already begun to adapt to the changes and some, bringing their practices online, it does not seem fruitful as yet. 

PHOTOS: Instagram