Art Dimensions

Flamingo provides background and information on the latest and greatest exhibitions, productions and events on the visual and performing arts scene in Namibia

Visions in the Sand –

an exhibition to celebrate the desert elephant

The Fine Art Gallery in Swakopmund, in cooperation with the Desert Elephant Trust, is proud to host Visions in the Sand, in celebration and support of Namibia’s famed desert-adapted elephants. Paintings, photography and 3D works by artists from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia are paying tribute to these elephants, which roam the wilds of north-western Namibia.

The exhibition includes works by international award-winners Paul Dixon from South Africa; the late Konrad Zander from Namibia; and Omaruru-based photographer Chris Johnston. Also represented are Namibian/German Uli Aschenborn, South Africans Zakkie Eloff and James Yates, and Zimbabweans Zamani Sibanda and Tichaona Ncube.

Gallery owner Martina von Wenzel said she jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with the Desert Elephant Trust. “I have always believed that art should be part of the community, and should generate income for the community… It was a good fit for my gallery, since I’ve always had wildlife in my heart.”

Both the gallery and the individual artists have agreed to donate some of the proceeds of this exhibition to the Desert Elephant Trust, which works towards ensuring the welfare and long-term survival of Namibia’s desert-adapted elephants. Projects that will benefit include the creation and maintenance of boreholes; the funding of ‘capture and relocate’ programmes for ‘problem’ animals; and addressing human/elephant conflicts through the strengthening of community infrastructure, education and training.

The exhibition in the Fine Art Gallery at 34 Sam Nujoma Avenue in Swakopmund will run until 9 September.

www.wuestenelefant.de/

www.gallery.com.na

Text Edward Jenkins

 

BOX OFFICE Orange Juice

 

 

THE FILM

On one fine day they met over a glass of orange juice. Destiny took over and they fell unequivocally in love. However, they each held a secret, a secret so threatening it would destroy their chance at true love. Years later, still as inseparable as since                      that first day, and still very much in love, fate intervenes and both their secrets are revealed. Only trust will tell the outcome. Orange Juice is a story of love and betrayal.

The film was screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in June 2011 and will also be screened at the ContraVision Film Festival in Berlin in September, as well as at the Africa In The Picture Film Festival in Amsterdam in October.

 THE DIRECTOR

Orange Juice was directed and produced by Tim Huebschle. He produced his first short film in 2001 and is currently working on his first feature, Land of the Brave.

Read more about the Namibian Movie Collection at http://www.africavenir.org/

 

POTTERS OF NAMIBIA

Sonja Speight

Coastal jewels

It’s a cold and blustery afternoon in late May and Sonja is just opening her curio shop, Mokoro, near the Swakopmund Jetty. The sea is brown with mud washed down by the Swakop River, but Sonja thinks it’s wonderful. “Just right for photographing pottery,” she says with a laugh.

Having grown up in Swakopmund, she’s used to coastal weather, but Sonja was first introduced to pottery in another seaside town far from here, taking her first lessons in the craft in East London, South Africa. Returning to Swakop, she continued lessons with Sharon Flewellyn before buying her own kiln and wheel and setting up her studio on the banks of the Swakop River.

While Sonja works mainly in stoneware, she bought a large volume of mixed clays from another potter, so what she’ll be using on any particular day is often pot luck. She also tends to make what the season or mood requires, and recently she’s been planning to make teacups!

Clay is a wonderful form of expression for her. “I love the balance between the physical and imaginative aspects of pottery, which bring out the best in the clay and the potter.” Sonja feels part of the pot should be left unglazed and textured to access the essence of the piece.

We choose bright jewel-glazed pots for the photo session, which adds sparkle to the grey day for a few minutes, before she packs them on the shelf in her shop for the afternoon shift.

Sonja can be contacted at sonja@kuiseb.com or 081 279 5330.

You can also view her work at Mokoro at the Swakopmund jetty.

Text Annabelle Venter

 

Wambuseun – Namibia’s first rapping super hero!

Text Zenao Angula

In a country as diverse as Namibia with its open window of possibilities, it’s no wonder that the first rapper in Afrikaans is an Oshiwambo-speaking artist.

Lownan Nangombe aka Wambuseun was born in Windhoek in 1982, moving with his family to Swakopmund after a few years.

His fans don’t call him a super hero for nothing. He is the pioneer of Afrikaans rap in Namibia, and has carved a niche for himself in the music industry, both locally and abroad, especially in Germany. His campaign to become a member of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of his school sparked his career, which he says took off as a joke. He composed his first single – Jy Sal Net Verloor  (You will just loose) – for the campaign, but even though he received the most votes, he couldn’t serve on the SRC because he hadn’t been in the school long enough to qualify!

The campaign, however, paved his way. In 2010 he performed at Germany’s biggest festival, the Rheinkultur Karneval, alongside artists such as Gentleman, Amy Macdonald and Jennifer Rostock.

His first album – Wambuseun vannie 064 – won him an award for Best Afrikaans Album at the Namibian Annual Music Awards 2011 in Windhoek.

On 16 and 17September is performing at the Huisgenoot Hart van Windhoek Festival, Wanderers Stadium, tickets available at Computickets and Shoprite and Checkers.

His second album Wambuseun will be launched at the Windhoek High School Stadium on 2 and 3 December. In 2012, he will be touring Europe, performing in countries like Germany, Holland and Belgium.

An African Touch for a Classical Trio

Text Jean Fischer

Photograph Raini Becker

One of the most sought-after instrumental ensembles in Namibia, the Trio Feminale, also known as the ‘desert girls’ because of their memorable classical music performances in the Namib, have now added an African touch to their musically adventurous repertoire with the addition of a young Namibian percussionist who not only enhances their classical music by means of the djembe drum, but adds a rhythmic touch to their wide-ranging repertoire.

Ferdinand Hengombe, generally known as Ferdi, is a goldsmith by profession, as well as being a musician of note. A former leader of Marimbas Namibia, he felt the need to expand his musical activities. He acquired a silver drum set, gives drumming lessons, plays in his own band, Union Tribe, and enjoys the challenge of playing with the Trio Feminale.

A performance at the World Music Day at the Amphitheatre in Swakopmund recently served as a good example of the musical fusion between the four musicians. They played the Air from Bach as well as a movement from Haydn’s Gypsy Trio – in other words, very classical pieces that were given an interesting African touch by introducing percussion instruments, including the djembe drum. Ferdi’s input not only complements the atmosphere of Baroque music, but provides a pulsating and powerful rhythm when it comes to lively gypsy music or dances.

Highly qualified in the classical musical tradition, the Swakopmund-based Trio Feminale consisting of Christiane Ast (piano and saxophone); Christa Lambrechts (violin), and Susann Kinghorn (cello), has welcomed the opportunity to work on a repertoire for Trio Feminale con Ferdi. In addition to his musical skills, they say that his quiet, relaxed personality has a soothing effect on the three feisty, and at times temperamental, woman musicians.

The Trio Feminale ensemble celebrated its seventh birthday last month and has many admirers, both in Namibia and abroad. The musicians offers their established repertoire ranging from traditional classics to salon music; popular musical melodies; and a colourful mix of jazz-blues and folklore, or Trio Feminale con Ferdi, which brings with it the pulsating rhythms of Africa.

 

NAGN logo

Arts Association Heritage Trust at

THE NATIONAL ART GALLERY OF NAMIBIA, Windhoek

Viewing times

Tues–Fri: 8:00–17:00

Tel: 061 23 1160

Cell: 081 275 0678

www.nagn.org.na

aaht@iway.na

 

The National Historical Collection

A spectacular exhibition comprising over one hundred years of Namibian art, including samples of pre-historic rock art, is currently on show in the Lower Museum Gallery at NAGN.

A text displayed in the entrance hall introduces the history and activities of the indigenous peoples. Exhibits show functional art and crafts from some Namibian local regions, amongst them wooden sculptures, ceramics, woven and plaited articles, and jewellery. The spectator realises that traditional African art that has not been mass-produced, can be enjoyed and appreciated as artworks in their own right.

Due to the excellent curatorship and presentation, utility objects are supplemented by two-dimensional contemporary art with relevant subject matter. Very interesting is also the juxtapositioning of modern Bushman graphics from D’Kar, Botswana, with copies of ancient San rock art from Namibia. A touch of African mysticism has survived.

 

 

As featured in the September 2011 Edition  of FLAMINGO Magazine.