‘Luanda Nights’

In most of ‘Luanda Nights’, the world is oddly indistinct. As if illuminated by a beam from a car rushing by, as though viewed in a street lacking light and even somewhat like the world when wandered through without spectacles.

Presenting a collection of night scenes from different African cities, German artist and anthropologist Michael Pröpper marries his fascination with art and anthropology in an ongoing series currently offering glimpses into Luanda, Chitembo and Rundu after dark.

Unconcerned with the hustle and bustle of the day, in oil and acrylic on canvas, Pröpper presents individuals within scenes in detail diminishing darkness more as a manifestation of mood than any clear comment on society.

The result is a sombre offering in which the viewer is sometimes forced to search for the figures in the frames by following the curve of silhouettes or by seeking souls illuminated by splashes of light.

Beguiled by the dynamism of soundscapes, ‘smellscapes’, fuzzy mobility and the diversity of impressions capable of collection during nightly urban existence, ‘Luanda Nights’ alights on couples in doorways, women at work and men in lonely areas imprecise in a way that implores imagination.

As the figures are faceless and even the backgrounds black and blurred, the viewer must navigate through a narrative that is only hinted at. To flesh out forms and buildings in the dark, Pröpper’s use of colour is subtle and suggestive with just the moon or a cut of artificial light to catch the colour of a garment or the form of a figure.

The effect can be captivating, sometimes dreamlike and it is most successful in ‘Rundu Man’. A mostly black and white piece in which a man has his back turned off centre and exists only as a silhouette… Some lightness of shirt and some humanness of form in a room that threatens to swallow him whole.

Equally absorbing is ‘Luanda Nightyard’ in which women cook and trade in a dilapidated yard and a dog is only just visible in a slice of light.

Though most of the figures in ‘Luanda Nights’ are turned away from the viewer. In ‘Chitembo Girls,’ one faceless figure looks our way. Hurrying by past traffic and a tree, she turns towards the artist as if suddenly aware of being observed as her two friends rush to places unknown.

A female face is also attentive in ‘Epingiro’ where women gather in traditional dress to converse under trees or show a baby off to a police officer. All but one who smiles out at the viewer and is all the more remarkable for smiling distinctly by day in a collection which mostly turns away indistinctly by night.

An odd addition in an erratic exhibition by a ‘figurative painter’ concerned with ‘ethnographic, empathetic, energetic or even emotional impulses’, ‘Epingiro’ looms large and as absorbing as the more moody night scenes.

Certainly a series caught in the middle rather than edited and pursued to artistic, thematic and cohesive conclusion, ‘Luanda Nights’ has some bright moments in a collection captivated by the dark.

‘Luanda Nights’ will be on display at the National Art Gallery of Namibia until 1 August. Visit michaelproepper.de or email kunst@michaelproepper.de

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