Flamingo - Art, Craft & Culture - An eclectic mix of multi-dimensional artwork
Presented by Art in the House, Sculp-tures in Space is the first exhibition of two- and three-dimensional Namibian works of art staged at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC). The sculptures can be seen in the gallery space, outside in the garden, in the library and hall, and on the first floor of the building.
Art in the House was founded in 2006 by Namibian artist Alpheus Mvula and Aurélie Zannier, originally from France, to promote Namibian art through innovative and creative events. This is the second exhibition the two have organised with financial assistance from the FNCC and the Spanish Co-operation office of the Spanish Embassy in Namibia.
Works on exhibition were sourced from the artists, the FNCC and the University of Namibia (UNAM), and include sculptures from the Tulipamwe collection. The organisers approached all artists who work in the two- and three-dimensional medium and were pleased with the response, although some established artists did not participate, due to having no completed work at hand. The result is an eclectic mix of 40 works in mixed media, ranging from stone, metal, wood, wire and aluminium to see-through sellotape, created by a total of 22 professional and established artists, art teachers and newcomers.
Woodcarving has been an almost universal medium of sculpture for at least 5 000 years, whereas carving in stone was sporadic and only became popular in Egypt, Greece and Italy (Michelangelo being the most famous of the Italian sculptors) much later. Three-dimensional art has a long history not only in Europe, Asia and the Americas, but also in Africa.
African sculptural art has made a great impact on modern European and American art, bringing in a new vocabulary of form and helping Western artists in the early part of the 20th century to free themselves from narrow formal preconceptions. The influence of African sculptural forms on Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, on cubism, and on other 20th-century stylistic and aesthetic movements, is a commonplace of art history.
Walking through the exhibition you can clearly see how African and western art forms can come together and assume a unified Namibian identity. One example is the stone sculpture Remember me by up-and-coming artist Elias Shiwoohamba. Here the African style of stone carving meets that of the iconic Henry Moore. Remember me is a fascinating work of art that invites the viewer to step closer, touch it and take in its aura.
Many artists are intrigued by found objects, be they scrap metal, bone, pieces of cloth, wire, tin, et cetera. When you come down the stairs, an outsized ostrich, made from scrap metal, greets you. To the left is Feather, constructed from rusted saw blades on a marble stand, by Paul Cashinga, a professional woodcarver from Omaruru, who also created the metal sculpture Dog in the garden. Ahead in the gallery is a mixed media work titled Found Object in a predominant ochre colour by Barbara Pirron. Resembling a woman, it is an uncomfortable but fascinating sculpture.
In the garden are works by the head of the Art Department at UNAM, Hercules Viljoen, which are part of the permanent collection of the FNCC, and inside pieces by the director of the National Art Gallery of Namibia, Joseph Madisia. Also represented are art teachers Kay Cowley (UNAM) and John Nampala (John Muafangejo Art Centre).
A human form, looking strangely like a balloon, stands in the middle of the gallery. At closer inspection it is Molabatsi Motsholapheko's sculpture My Skin – My Clone, made from sellotape. Molabatsi studies art at UNAM and comes from Botswana. Inside the see-through work there is a target in the middle of the chest and snippets of paper burnt at the edges. This is very strong work that will stay with the viewer for a long time.
From afar a whimsical sculptural structure beckons the viewer to come closer. Moving around it you recognise the form of a bird with a wing that looks like a human arm touching its back, as if in pain. The title is Old Chicken by Samuel Kamati, and the piece is made from scrap metal. This work will make most people who see it, smile. Behind it is a combined two- and three-dimensional work by one of the young established Namibian female artists, Imke Rust, made from wire and aluminium, its torso hanging from an extended hand.
To the left is a beautiful carving by Alpheus Mvula made from serpentine stone and titled The Woman Empowerment. The work combines everything that is important when working in stone. As Adrian Stokes once said: “Carving is an articulation of something that already exists in the block,” and “The proper carving of stone results in a certain roundness and solidity of form with no detachment of parts.” This can also be said of the already-mentioned sculpture Remember me by Elias Shiwoohamba.
Moving into the garden of the FNCC, an oversized hand, made from branches and pointing upward catches the eye. This work is by Hercules Viljoen and forms part of the permanent collection of the FNCC. Below it is an inspiring abstract sculpture made from scrap metal by the late Samuel Mbungilo. Not far away a lone sheep constructed from metres and metres of wire titled Black Sheep of my Pasture is the work of Shiya Karuseb. Its fascination lies in the lightness it conveys, although the structure is heavy and bulky.
Because the two- and three-dimensional works on show are so varied in subject matter and materials used, the exhibition works extremely well. One can only hope that sculpture will again take its rightful place on the Namibian art scene and go from strength to strength.
The exhibition opened in October and runs until 27 November. It can be viewed from Monday to Friday from 10:00–19:00. Text and photos by Heidemarie Rapmund
