I am a visual artist based in Windhoek, Namibia. My art develops itself primarily through painting and mixed-medium, but I have also been especially interested in combining different art forms, tensioning and translating sensations, images and ideas from multiple media. My art is in essence is about telling a feeling or story, through whichever medium(s) can act as a conduit for that feeling or story.
I started off my journey as an artist when I graduated from the College of the Arts (COTA), Windhoek in 2011 after coming from my rural village in northern Namibia. As a colorblind artist, it was difficult in the beginning to find my voice, and I explored many different styles and mediums before finding the signature style that I am known for today.
Through my art, I want to tell complex stories and feelings, and my signature style has been developed as a vehicle to embody this complexity. My style is a technique of mixed medium, using both acrylic paint and newspaper collages on large-scale canvases.
When I paint, I often use my hands to truly connect with the story and pour my soul and own emotions into the canvas. My painting is bold, confident and colourful, despite being a colorblind artist.
The use of newspaper collages in my work developed first as a necessity, but has become an important story telling vessel that adds depth to my work. Since I am limited in seeing color and contrast, the black and white nature of newspapers became a safe-space for me to explore and build the foundations of my art, while using paint to add layers, feeling, and color to this foundation.
However, the use of newspapers is also a medium that allows me to relay my message and complexity of the people and emotions I paint. The clippings and articles I use, although chosen at random, build the reality and context of the stories and emotions I am highlighting in my work.
In today’s world, we are constantly inundated by news, advertisements, and images that construct our reality and the context in which we feel and operate. Newspapers are the representation of this modern phenomenon and the priorities of our society, and how this can influence our identities and emotions.
Newspapers are a time capsule of our past, present, and future simultaneously – and we are affected by what is held in between these pages, no matter which one we choose to read, or don’t read. What happens in the past and present contributes to our experience, and will influence how we feel and the actions we take in the future.
The mixed medium combining paint and newspapers allows me as an artist to interpret this complex entanglement between the world around us and our own stories, feelings, and identities. In a world that is seemingly becoming more and more complicated and harder to navigate, my work captures the simplicity of pure emotions.
By tuning into and allowing ourselves to feel and experience these emotions, we are able to connect to others of all backgrounds on an intrinsically human level. There are important lessons to learn from laughing, tears, loneliness, or anger. What is the root of this emotion? Why am I feeling this emotion? How will this emotion make me react?
Anyone can connect with this essential human experience, which is another major objective of my work – shedding a light on the stories and emotions of people who are not typically seen in order to humanize and unite them to the mainstream.
The style of my work is heavily influenced by Namibian culture and the people from villages. Yet, this culture and We/these people are more often than not homogenized as generic ‘African’ by the West, and not appreciated as its own unique experience.
By showcasing these Namibian cultures and stories through my work in a way that everyone can connect with, I aim to foster understanding and empathy in a world that can be painfully divisive. Even if the people I showcase in my work are from a completely different world from those who see my paintings, the raw emotions that my art exudes are something that everyone has felt at some point in their lives and can relate to.
Through my work, I hope to continue showcasing the Namibian culture and people I am so proud of to an international audience, to shed light on these underrepresented stories and bring people from all over the world together with the vulnerability and power of ubiquitous, authentic human emotion.
