ARTIST STATEMENT
My art is a vessel for storytelling—a way to capture the depth and complexity of human experience. Through each piece, I seek to bring to life the faces, histories, and realities of those who are often unseen, translating their emotions into visual form to spark connection and understanding.
As a colourblind artist, contrast is central to my process—both visually and conceptually. I work primarily in mixed media, combining acrylic paint with newspaper collage on large-scale canvases. My hands are as vital as my brushes; they allow me to physically engage with the work, to feel its textures, and to channel energy directly onto the surface. What began as a practical aid—using newspaper to distinguish contrast—has become a meaningful storytelling device. These clippings, though selected at random, embed layers of history and meaning into my paintings, merging personal narratives with the weight of the world.
Through collage, layering, and impasto techniques, I create textured compositions where contrast guides the viewer’s eye. This interplay between clarity and obscurity, past and present, echoes the complexity of the human condition.
We live in a world overwhelmed by images, headlines, and narratives that shape our understanding of reality. To me, newspapers are both mirrors and time capsules—preserving the past, reflecting the present, and gesturing toward the future. In my work, these printed fragments interact with the figures I paint, highlighting the relationship between the personal and the political, the individual and the collective. What emerges is a conversation between paint and print, between history and lived experience, between viewer and subject.
At the heart of my work is human connection. I paint people—figures who carry the weight of their stories in their eyes, posture, and presence. Their emotions are raw, stripped of pretense, inviting the viewer to truly see and feel with them. My mixed-media approach allows me to explore the tangled relationship between our internal worlds and the external forces that shape them.
In an increasingly fractured and fast-moving world, my work offers a moment of pause—a return to the simplicity and truth of pure emotion. Laughter, sorrow, solitude, anger—these universal feelings transcend language, geography, and culture. They call us to reflect: What is the root of this emotion? Why am I feeling it? And how will it shape what I do next?
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I am a Namibian visual artist based in Windhoek, working primarily with mixed media to capture the complexity of human experience. My practice blends painting with newspaper collage to explore themes of identity, history, and social narrative. Growing up in northern Namibia, my artistic journey has been deeply shaped by cultural storytelling traditions and an instinct for contrast—an instinct influenced by my colourblindness.
I studied at the College of the Arts (COTA) in Namibia, where I refined my skills and developed a distinctive visual language. My approach embraces both traditional techniques and experimental methods, using texture and layering to guide the viewer’s engagement. In recent years, I have drawn inspiration from Namibia’s underground pop culture of the 1950s–1970s—a period marked by resilience, creativity, and transformation.
My career has included numerous solo and group exhibitions across Africa and Europe. Selected exhibitions include People (2023) at Young Blood Art Gallery in Cape Town; Namibia-German Initiative (2021) at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart; and Created in Isolation (2020) at the Namibia Arts Association (NAA). My work is represented in several notable collections, including the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, and the National Art Gallery of Namibia.
My artistic vision and connection to Namibia’s history and culture are further explored in the short documentary Healing Roots, produced by Loft Arts. The film offers insight into my creative process, sources of inspiration, and how my work bridges past and present—bringing untold stories from Namibian history into the public eye.
