Most exhibitions caution patrons not to touch. Hands off. Don’t prod, don’t poke and keep a respectable distance from the work being considered. Not so for the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s ‘Textiles and Textures’.
Curated by Tulina Nakashona, Elize van Huyssteen, Ndeenda Shivute, Erastus Hangula and Anna Veijo who encourage visitors to engage in a more interactive experience, the exhibition is an invitation to trail your hand along the work, inch closer, close your eyes and fully appreciate the artworks both visually and as tactile items of investigation.
Presenting works from the permanent collections of the Namibia Arts Association and the NAGN which are significant either in their use of textile or texture, the exhibition introduces visitors to a wonderfully diverse selection of both historical and contemporary Namibian materials and sculptures.
Flowing and fine in Maria Caley’s ‘Perunda’ duo made of silk chiffon and natural dyes, coarse with crevices in ‘Mamolapo’ (1991), an elongated sculpture by Hercules Viljoen inspired by the titular mythological creature, or recycled as in Ina-Maria Shikongo’s ‘Haitian Carpet’ (2012), the exhibition presents textiles made of everything from plastic and bottle caps to Karakul wool and brown paper.
Featuring textiles made in remembrance by Rika Nel and Lynette Diergaardt, mixed media by Trudi Dicks, Joe Madisia, Elisia Nghidishange and Erik Schnack among various others, ‘Textiles and Textures’ is skillfully curated in the NAGN’s upper and lower gallery.
Incorporating local wildlife or stencils connoting their culture and identities, textile artists such as Maria Gaeses, Dennis Soroseb, Laimi Mbangula and Mumangeni endeavour to create fabrics reflecting contemporary Namibia.
A place which Mumangeni, who aspires to run a textile production company in the future, feels does not encourage the industry as most support comes from tourists and foreigners.
Multifarious, topnotch and inviting of touch, ‘Textiles and Textures’ will be on display at the NAGN until June 2018.
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