SLOW BURN

Slow Burn tells the story of Contemporary Namibian Art through a partial lens. A look, a glimpse, a peek, a partial view, a few pieces of a much larger picture distilled through the work of thirteen artists. For two curators who have spent the last decade or so enmeshed in the scene it becomes difficult to step back, and try to weave a narrative that will inevitably fall short of the depth and breadth of work that emerges and grows from our community. However, the idea of a slow burn creates an apt metaphor for the persistence and resilience that characterises both the art scene as a whole and the way in which we and many of the artists on show in this exhibition approach their work. The detailed and time-intensive pieces that make up this exhibition reflect the slow, steady and careful growth of a small and determined art scene. Perhaps because of Namibia’s large landmass and small population, elements from the natural world inevitably work their way into the artworks of many Namibian artists. This is as often through depictions of nature as the use of natural elements in the construction of the works themselves. As a result the relationship between humans and their environment comes to the fore. After spending many decades working with oil paint on canvas, Barbara Böhlke, took up the challenge of working almost exclusively with the natural pigments that are mined in northern Namibia and which are used for a variety of cosmetic purposes. These heavily layered, burnt-red pieces, evoke landscapes both real and imaginary. Through a time-intensive process she builds up layers of pigment, ash and charcoal in a process that cannot be rushed. Similarly obsessed with materials from the earth, Ismael Shivute quarries his own stones from a hillside near the capital city of Windhoek. What follows is a meditative process, through which the artist liberates a subtle blue-grey form from each piece using only hand tools. Shivute challenges himself and the stone, creating perfect circles and leaving delicate bridges of rock. Much like Böhlke’s use of pigment, Shivute is constantly negotiating how much of the material to manipulate and how much to leave in its natural state. These material meditations continue with the work of Fillipsus Sheehama who uses Makalani nut piths in combination with various found materials to create unlikely tapestries. Sheehama says; “I focus on found objects because these objects carry the true memories of the people who used them and are forever connected to those people.” Makalani nuts for example are used to brew traditional beer and support the livelihoods of many women in rural Namibia. Often juxtaposed with metal bottle caps these works evoke the patchwork of traditional Nama dress and weave a complicated story of tradition and contemporary living, rural and urban life. The Makalani palm also appears in photographs by Kyle Weeks. Weeks’ striking portraits capture Himba men from northern Namibia, perched on palms that they tap to brew Otusu. Tapping the palms is a great source of pride for these men with whom Weeks slowly builds relationships in order to help his subjects construct their own images. Weeks attempts to “photograph them in the way they would like to be seen by an outside audience.” Like Fillipus Sheehama’s unconventional approach to textile/tapestry work, Lynette Musukubili’s crocheted plastic works stand adjacent to the norm. Her artistic practice is deeply rooted in the maternal side of her family. During lockdown Musukubili developed her technique out of necessity, using materials that were readily available to her. Heat transforms the soft and pliable crocheted surface into robust three-dimentional sculptures and wall hangings. Found objects are also woven into the miniature textiles of Lynette Diergaardt. These small delicate pieces gather together various left over haberdashery and costume jewelry. Bringing to mind the delicate detritus left in the recesses of many a household drawer, each sparkling work is an offering to the idea of recycling and renewal in the context of a world struggling with over-full landfills and the present dangers of climate change. Striking a different visual note but stemming from a kindred impulse, activist and artist, Ina-Maria Shikongo’s tapestries reflect on social justice and climate issues. Shikongo stitches urgent slogans onto pieces of reused fabric. Her earlier, much smaller works of a similar nature, were solely used as protest banners for the regular climate summits she has attended around the globe. Shikongo’s activism and art meld into a single persevering practice. Recycled fabric is also painstakingly threaded into and around Elisia Nghidishange’s welded metal sculptures. Cut into strips and hardened with paint and dye, the fabric is pulled taut to fill out various forms, most often inspired by the human body. Recently Nghidishange has started to incorporate ceramics into these works. Before studying art in Windhoek Nghidishange practised traditional, utilitarian pottery. With these works Ndhidishange connects her past with her present, slowly and carefully making space for both. The strong lines of Nghidishange’s colourful sculptures are echoed in the stark black lines of Kim Kabelo Modise’s linocuts. Modise’s thin parallel lines cover the surface of his large prints. Carefully planned, with no room for error, these zigzagging lines are interrupted by images of nests, thorns, dunes and people. Actofel Ilovu’s linocuts form a body of work that sits together as both a critique of Namibian society and a window into his complex internal world. In this world, everyone from politicians to children and colonial era heroes have faces made up of staring marula nut husks. This motif is instantly familiar to many Namibians, who will have grown up using marula nuts for food, oil and firewood. Ilovu explains that “like a mask, the nut allows me to tell stories that both are and are not my own to tell.” The obsessive and repetitive use of a socially important symbol is also reflected in the textiles of Maria Mbereshu. Her bold and energetic patterns all focus on the shape of a wooden spoon. Mbereshu describes the importance of cooking lump-free pap (maize porridge) and the ways in which women's labour is valued only in a domestic context. When speaking about her work she often reflects on the feeling of being trapped by the expectations of society. While Ilovu and Mbereshu each work with a single important symbol, Nicky Marais’ large scale paintings draw on a lexicon of shapes and forms which vie for position in large complex compositions. Gathered from the Namibian landscape and the social and political history of the continent, Marais brings together seemingly mundane shapes like electrical towers and fire pits alongside structures of worship and symbols of death. These tangible objects, used iteratively across multiple works, lose and regain meaning, defining and creating a sense of space that anchors each form with its context, working with the space between an object and the intangible meaning that humans imbue it with. Shifting up, zooming out and moving into the realm of total abstraction, Shiya Karuseb’s large untitled paintings often suggest a view from above. Unwilling to elaborate on his choice of images and colours, he leaves a sense of mystery in the gap which his voice might have filled. While these thirteen artists are only a small handful of a small art scene, their bold offerings paint a wide and varied picture of the challenging Namibian landscape, both social and environmental.