Unam Visual Art Graduates Showcase Creativity and Skill

For the seventh year in a row, the University of Namibia’s visual art graduates are exhibiting their work at the National Art Gallery of Namibia.

Majoring in ceramics, creative expression, fashion studies, textile studies, art for advertising and visual culture, the exhibition showcases the work the graduates have focused on throughout the year. The scope of the creative projects highlights their diverse subject matters, backgrounds and skills in different fields and mediums.

A stand-out from art for advertising is Dewayne Goagoseb’s campaign ‘Don’t Kill the Seal’, which highlights the controversial annual culling of the Cape Seals at Namibia’s coastline.

By using stark imagery which showcases the brutality of the reality of seal culls – such as a man towering over a seal, armed with a bat, to creating a barcode with the statistics of the 80 000 to 85 000 seals which are culled each year – the campaign counters the common narrative that seals are culled because they are ‘depleting populations of fish’ while downplaying how lucrative the seal fur industry actually is.

Goagoseb is able to show how effective art and advertising can be in disseminating important messages to the public, where simple numbers, facts and figures wouldn’t be as impactful as tactical, compelling storytelling.

In ceramics, Patrick Mwashindange’s ‘Improving Me’ examines the contrast between modern and traditional pottery-making. With a video showcasing the process of clay pots being traditionally fired in pits dug in the ground, he advocates using resources readily available – such as clay – as well as inherent talents and cultural skills to improve livelihoods.

Linekeela Nghihepavali’s ‘Toxic Waste’ is a mixed media series which uses everyday discarded objects like bottle caps, plastic bags and labels to create brightly coloured art. While the artist is able to create interesting kaleidoscopic works with what is considered ‘waste’, she also aims to encourage people to be more conscious of the importance of recycling and reducing our consumption of products that create unnecessary waste by being cognisant of the environmental impact this has on the world we live in.

It’s easy to see the inspiration behind Gesie van Staden’s ‘Desert Waves’ – with eight large frames covered with clear plastic sheeting, paintings of ‘where the desert meets the sea’ make liberal use of shades of tan and light brown to represent the dunes, and hues of blue representing the Atlantic ocean.

The accordion-like installation creates illusions and perspectives of layered waves of the ocean and desert, depending on where you stand. This is much like the concept the artist aimed for in dedicating this work to those who suffer from depression, with its multiple layers.

Congolese artist Genese Siuna Genese’s ‘Do You Hear Us Now’ is loud and clear.

Hanging from the ceiling in the upper gallery are five transparencies of black and white images of Congolese children. Some are child soldiers holding guns, while others are mining columbite-tantalite, a mineral that is used in phones, laptops and video game consoles. What makes the work so poignant and devastating is recognising that phones and video games – often used to entertain children – are ironically robbing Congolese children of their childhoods. Stitched with bold yellow, red and blue coloured threads, Genese is able to bring in an element of colour to remind us that despite their circumstances, they are still children, they are still powerful and they are still bright.

The Unam Visual Arts Graduates exhibition will be on display until 25 January.

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