Rock art
In this semi-desert country, the rocky massifs are home to high concentrations of cave paintings. Namibian rock art offers a precious insight into the history of a traditional society through magical forms of expression. The Brandberg massif and the Twyfelfontein valley are real art galleries from ancient times. Reproductions of these works can be seen in the National Museum of Namibia in Windhoek. It exhibits in particular a copy of the famous White Lady of Brandberg, a marvel of rock art traced in pink granite. A volcanic site estimated to be 140 million years old, its name means "mountain of fire". Since 1970, archaeologists have identified several thousand representations, mostly human. The works are attributed to nomadic peoples, ancestors of the Bushmen or San. Thus, these pictorial testimonies refer us to the first inhabitants of southern Africa. For this reason, extinct animal species such as the quagga, an ancestor of the zebra, are mixed with antelopes, rhinoceroses and gazelles. The precision of the drawing, as much in the assurance of the outline, in the movement as in the skill of the details are remarkable. The most famous site in Namibia, and even on the African continent, is undoubtedly Twyfelfontein or "hesitating fountain". It contains one of the greatest concentrations of rock art in the heart of its ancestral massifs. But among these drawings engraved on stone by the Bushmen, there is a small percentage of human figures (10%) as well as an abundance of geometric figures. These motifs include rain falling on a giraffe, as the bushmen attributed this power to the long-necked animal.
The interpretation of Namibian rock art is the subject of many hypotheses. The hybrid creatures are generally understood as shamans adorning themselves with their powers in the spirit world. These healing diviners are believed to be the first artists to have carved and painted the rock faces. During the magical rites performed by the San, hunters resorted to scarification to ensure a successful hunt. The White Lady is actually a hunter with a white painted body, armed with a bow and arrow.
First museum
The German colonization was as short as it was decisive. It was marked by the almost total disappearance of the Herero people, one of the founders of Namibian culture. Many settlers remained in Namibia when the rule ended in 1915. Today, an estimated 25,000 Namibians are of German descent.
The first collection in Namibia's history was born out of a local project by Germans. They had the idea of putting out an appeal in the newspapers to save artifacts from being shipped to Europe. Governor Leutwein appointed an official to find a suitable location and allocated a budget for acquisitions. The Landesmuseum, inaugurated in 1907 in Windhoek, became the first Namibian museum. The concept of an exhibition space was thus imported. In a second phase, South Africa took over the management of the collection and founded the State Museum of Namibia. In a nascent nation, the museum, which had become national, had to learn to appropriate its heritage and its collections were organized by the settlers. In these rooms, in addition to the superb reproductions of rock art, one can spend some time in the permanent exhibition on the independence of the country, which shows, among other things, photographs of the period. Outside the museum, a surprising collection of locomotives and wagons will bring a touch of originality to the visit.
Landscape art
At the beginning of the 20th century, some European painters discovered Namibia with wonder. They started to paint the natural beauty of the country, its variety and its vast spaces with realism and sometimes a note of romanticism. Landscape art became a real artistic trend that dominated the country until the 1960s. Anita Steyn, born in 1955, is one of the most famous landscape artists in Namibia. Trained in South Africa, she paints a restless, tortured nature, very far from the first bucolic landscapes.
In the meantime, in 1947, the Swakopmunder Arts Association was founded, the first Namibian art association. Its volunteer members continue to work for the promotion of living art. Music, theater, literature and fine arts have their place in the Swakopmunder space. The collection developed gradually and with great care.
In the 1970s, a few Namibian artists made their mark by turning to a form of abstraction.
One can distinguish between artists born before and after independence. Some, like Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Nicola Brandt, document the past. They immortalize the traditions that founded Namibian identity. Landscape art is carried by Barbara Böhlke and Nicky Marais, while spirituality is the privileged domain of Ndasuunje Papa Shikongeni and Lukas Amakali. New themes are now emerging. Overconsumption preoccupies Fillipus Sheehama and Ismael Shivute, while social inequalities are denounced by artists Elvis Garoeb and Ilovu Homateni.
Some Namibian artists
Blythe Loutit, born in South Africa in 1940, is a Namibian artist known for her wildlife conservation work. She is the founder of the Rhino Survival Trust (SRT) and is a well-known illustrator of botanical books.
John Muanfagejo (1943-1987) is recognized as the first international representative of Namibian art. His talents as an engraver make him a model for future generations.
Paul Kiddo, born in 1949 in Namibia, is a self-taught artist. A house painter, he once had the idea of using leftover paint to draw landscape patterns on pebbles. Encouraged by the passers-by who noticed his works in front of his home, he moved to the capital to make a career. He had to wait until 1992 to organize his first solo exhibition. After that, the exhibitions followed one another, making him one of the most popular artists in Namibia. His oil paintings reproduce everyday scenes in a rather naive style. Villagers, wild animals and churches are often dominated by a vast blue sky.
Joseph Madisia, born in 1954, is considered the godfather of Namibian art and one of the first to achieve international recognition. His prints and sculptures inspire the younger generation represented by Dingalo Shinyama, Hage Nasheotwalwa and Julia Hango. All his life, he invested himself in the transmission of his techniques and the diffusion of Namibian art.
Barbara Böhlke, born in 1958, lives in the capital where she teaches visual arts. She began by studying goldsmithing in Germany before turning to oil painting. Her first exhibition took place in 1994 and four years later she opened her art school. She interprets the brushstrokes she makes on the canvas as vectors of energy directly linked to her interiority. A very dense colored matter occupies her most abstract canvases. More recently, she has turned to natural pigments. She participates in group exhibitions in Namibia, but also in Zambia, South Africa, France and Italy.
Born in South Africa in 1962, Nicky Marais is now a leading Namibian artist. Painter, teacher and activist, she founded VAN (Visual Artists Namibia) in 2006 to defend the culture of her adopted land. Initially an abstract painter, she then drew her inspiration from the desert cave art and the history of the country. Recently, she has been introducing symbols using stencils and collage combined with more traditional media.
Ndasuunje Shikongeni, known as "Papa," was born in 1971 in Windhoek. The artist who started out as a street painter now has many strings to his bow: musician, dancer, storyteller, activist, teacher, he is also a painter and sculptor. As such, he has made paper mache work known in Namibia. In all his fields of activity, he evokes the history of Namibia, its rites, but also its sufferings which he exhibits all over the world.
Namibian Photography
In the field of photography, three names are worth remembering.
The pioneer, Margaret Courtney-Clarke, was born in Swakopmund in 1949. The major theme of this photographer is the art of African women and the disappearing traditions. In her collections, she immortalizes the creations of Namibian women in murals, beadwork and basketry.
Lukas Amakali, born in 1976, is also a painter and poet. He has won numerous awards and sees his talent as a gift from heaven. Spirituality determines his entire artistic approach, which is why he calls himself an abstract photographer. His superimposed transparent planes give a ghostly impression to his pictures.
The younger generation is led by Nicola Brandt. Born in 1983, the photographer is also a painter and video artist. She questions the colonial past of her country and documents the mutation of natural landscapes.
Nowadays
Since 2017, Helen Harris and Gina Figueira's Start Art Gallery has combined online activities with physical presence to promote Namibian artists abroad.
It should be noted that street art is prohibited in Namibia. Innovative practices are favored by local artists, such as the art of recycling and misappropriation of objects, represented by Fillipus Sheehama. The finesse of his work on recycled paper can only be admired. The diversity of artistic approaches reflects the energy that shakes the Namibian cultural scene.
