Somewhere along Robert Mugabe Avenue lies Restaurant La Bonne Table nestled in the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC). It reminds me of a distant French palace in the midst of a concrete jungle.
Unbeknownst to the average Joe taking a casual stroll, works of art, namely ‘Variation of Times’ by artist Margit Calegari lie beyond a great white door. All you have to do is open it and dare to take a journey into a perplexing world of clocks and canvases, because that is what you will find.
At first, you’d expect to hear a disturbing cacophony of time pieces keen to drive you into insanity but alas, there is none of that. Just silence, an eclectic mix of colour and strategically placed art that carefully draws you into an abstract portal of timeless beauty.
The canvases consist of beautifully crafted and well-executed combinations of spray paint in an array of earthy colours. Expect reds, browns, yellows – basically a tribute to nature and its wonders, which is perfect for a modern living room that begs for a speck of innovation and distinction.
Each piece also garners a unique blend of contour and circular motions on hardboard with the aid of stencils, but Calegari’s own hand marvels without a doubt. Any observer or critic would be able to tell if she lingered and slacked off at any point in time, which gives us a peek into her personality: Calegari is definitely a patient woman and spray painting requires immense concentration.
Funnily enough, this trait connects with her clocks. Oh, how we have heard so many idioms associated with time: ‘time is of the essence’, ‘African timing’, ‘there is no time like the present’. And it is true, Namibia is known for its fair share of punctuality issues.
Christian Goltz, president of the Photographic Society of Namibia and friend of the artist, couldn’t have said it better during at the exhibition opening:
“In Namibia we have lost touch with time. We are known to be always late with everything.”
Using this well-known aspect, Calegari creates time pieces with various designs resembling the Namibian flag, a map of Africa and a clever barcode. Honestly, I never thought I’d ask myself “who knew clocks could look like that?”
It’s not just about a circle with two hands that show the time any more.
Calegari is one of the few artists who have visualised the concept of time in the form of stylish and sophisticated designs spray painted on hardboard. And it looks pretty cool. One of my favourites was a lovely sculpture-like clock that is transformed into a contemporary impression of a grandfather clock minus the recurrent ticking.
Whether or not this particular clock works is still questionable, but the design is immaculate and never-seen-before. I love it even if I have to cower behind the N$3 900 price tag attached to it.
Speaking of prices, the pieces (each titled ‘Title’) range from N$450 to N$4 700 and more, that’s if you’re lucky to scoop one up. Surprisingly, most of the artworks on display have already been sold within a day – known to be one of the fastest-selling exhibitions at the La Bonne Table, but hopefully the artist will make more pieces available.
After a successful and well-attended launch earlier this week, it is not surprising that eager art lovers snapped up what they could.
Even if the prices are a bit too steep for your pockets, I recommend one and all to make a turn and take a look.
Who knows?
You might end up pocketing a couple of pieces and gladly displaying them at home in your personal gallery.
‘Variation of Times’ will be exhibited until 5 July.
