Cota’s ArtSplash Is Erratic

The College of the Art’s annual ArtSplash returns to the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN), featuring a selection of work from the institution’s visual arts and design diploma students.

Exploring themes ranging from the ongoing pandemic to toxic masculinity, vice-plagued home environments as well as the scourge of homophobia, this year’s ArtSplash is an erratic affair offering a handful of standouts.

Quick to catch the eye is an eerie installation by Vakataviza Mbakurupa, whose plastic renderings float and bubble, creating an untitled but otherworldly scene. Presenting an interesting investigation into material and technique, Mbakurupa’s promising work loses some steam with a lack of titling or captions.

The medium that seems to stand head and shoulders above the rest is some students’ work in sculpture.

Chilling in Denzel Ngwedha’s reaching, beer bottle strewn ‘My Dark House, Trapped House’ and nostalgic in Ryan de Wee’s repurposed VHS cassettes tugging at the strings of idyllic days spent watching ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘The Lion King’, the exhibition also boasts Nicoltine N. Schaller’s tongue-in-cheek ‘Earphone’ and Jodine Strauss’ ‘Robotic Self’.

Strauss is consistently solid in a number of mediums and is particularly striking in a mixed media piece titled ‘Homophobia’, which depicts the red, chained pain of this particular prejudice.

Also arresting across mediums is Esnya Zulu, who creates functional art in ‘Honey Light’ and highlights the caged and suffocating feeling of toxic masculinity in their mixed media ‘Strong Man’ and ‘Tough’.

While the textile section lacks some verve, Julia Sakaria’s ‘Hands Off’ draws attention in blood-dripping rhinos repeated on a stark white anti-poaching piece. In ceramics, ‘Chilli Cup’ and ‘Welwitschia Vase’ by Romario Vries adds some singular style to a lacklustre section. Vries’ papier-mache ‘Cyber-Rast’ is also of note in sculpture.

Though printmaking and painting are a visual arts staple, ArtSplash mostly underwhelms. The colourful, dripping yet pensive ‘The Rain of Wisdom in the Street’ by Kamanya Leonard and Absai Ikela’s ‘Dancing’ are two noted exceptions.

Patrons can also view snippets from the fashion segment of ArtSplash on a screen in the NAGN’s main gallery while jawbone jewellery by Profersor Utjatelwa hints at the creativity of the sartorially inclined.

An uneven exhibition no doubt dampened by the effects and challenges of the ongoing pandemic, this year’s ArtSplash shines in bursts but hasn’t quite returned to any former glory.

ArtSplash will be on display at the NAGN until 16 April.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.