Mukwendje’s ‘Ounona’ Celebrates Children

Children are the vivid heart of Hage Mukwendje’s ‘Ounona’ – a fleeting but charming solo exhibition the artist names in their honour.

On display at Livega’s plush upper terrace and show room for a few days last week, the exhibition was presented in aid of Do It For the Kids and Kids Soup Kitchen in Katutura.

Captivating in children’s large faces, Mukwendje’s kinetic lines and eliciting of smiles from viewers through the artist’s ability to capture and transmit the essence of unbridled childhood joy, ‘Ounona’ is a wholesome and nostalgic offering recalling what has ostensibly been lost.

“There’s a difference between children who grow up in the city and children who grow up in the countryside,” says Mukwendje, who hails from Okalongo. “When I was a child, I saw children who had PlayStations and nice toys but we had to create our own. We used our imagination and made them from things like wire. It was only when I grew up that I realised we had it all although it looked the other way.”

With images of hearts recurring as a sign of love in pieces such as ‘My Home Might Not Be A Place But We Can Share It’, which was inspired by a cousin the artist grew up with, Mukwendje places his subjects in blank spaces and focuses on emotion rather than any complex auxiliary details of life outside the city. Sometimes meditating, beginning their journey as future kings, considering destiny, smiling shyly in the face of food or sticking their tongue out in delight, Mukwendje’s children reflect a collection of moments he has experienced himself and relived in his service at soup kitchens and charity organisations.

“This is where I’m coming from and what I have seen,” he says of the exhibition, which was curated by Mutindi Jacobs. “I can relate to all these moments and compare it to today’s world where somebody at the age of nine already has Instagram. I got Instagram and social media at the age of 26. There was another day I met a teenage boy in the north with an Okapi knife and that’s not a good thing.”

Also intent on highlighting the importance of friendship, which he believes can dissuade boys in particular from going down dark and lonely paths, the College of the Arts alumnus’ title piece is a primary coloured burst of joy as a group of boys crack up with eyes closed and mouths open. Watching the artist pose next to them for a photograph, it is clear he is one of them or at least used to be before solo exhibitions in Europe and a striking one here at home.

“If I take you back to 16 years ago and compare it to today, there’s a huge contrast between where I come from and where I am today. Now I’m in the city, exhibiting in this nice building and somebody from the newspaper is coming to talk to me,” he says.

“I never thought that could happen but it happened. I’m excited for people to come and see this work. They’re going to see these artworks, they’re gonna click and they’re going to return to these moments.” ‘Ounona’ was on display at Livega from 22 to 25 October. For more information follow Hage Mukwendje Art on Facebook.

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

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