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This catalogue is kindly sponsored by
Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport & Culture
www.land-matters-in-art.com
Project launch 5 October 2012: “Land Matters in Art” invited established professional artists, artists ‘in the making’, as well as students and newcomers to join in the first artistic dialogue about land and land reform in Namibia. Painting, printing, drawing, photography, sculpture, print making, mixed media, video, textile, ceramic, installation, land art, or any other visual art form could be submitted. Namibian citizens and artists who are presently resident in Namibia could participate in this project. The deadline to hand in their artwork was the 21-25 January 2013. Exhibition opening 27 March 2013: National Art Gallery of Namibia Goethe-Centre Windhoek Franco Namibian Cultural Centre www.land-matters-in-art.com
Content
Forewords Alpheus G. !Naruseb Minister of Lands and Resettlement ____ 4 Onno Hückmann German Ambassador ____ 5 Retha-Louise Hofmeyr Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture ____ 6 Why Art Matters in the Namibian Land Reform Process Martina Römer Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Support to Land Reform ____ 7 Hercules Viljoen Director National Art Gallery of Namibia ____ 8 Artists / Artworks Participating Artists ____ 9 Selection Panel ____ 10 Artworks ____ 11 Index ____ 107 Partners & Sponsors ____ 111 Credits ____ 112
Live painting session during the official start of “Land Matters in Art“, 5 October 2012 at the Katutura Community Arts Centre (KCAC)
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Foreword
Alpheus G. !Naruseb
Minister of Lands and Resettlement The “Land Matters in Art Project” reinforces the thinking that Art in most, if not all, cultures is integral to life. This LAND MATTERS IN ART CATALOGUE is about opening up a new chapter in the Land Reform process in Namibia. It is about the recognition by the Ministry, in collaboration with all project partners, that 22 years after independence we need to take stock through actively engaging the Namibian art fraternity to articulate their vision, experiences and relationship with the land and the current dynamics in land reform through various art forms. This initiative invited the richly diverse cultural heritage within the Namibian arts society to reflect and communicate in whatever medium, taking cue from one of the most important policies to be adopted by our country immediately after independence to speak to us. The land question is a political, social and economic issue. It is about redressing dispossession, equity and promoting productive and sustainable livelihoods through the implementation of programmes targeted at poverty reduction. The Alpheus G. !Naruseb, SWAPO Party’s Minister of Lands and Resettlement Election Manifesto of 1989 and the watershed National Conference on Land Reform and the Land Question of 1991 both informed and guided the current policy and legislative framework on the implementation of the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme in our country. The wider Arts community in our country through the artwork featured in this publication have found focus and expression in whatever medium, sharing their experiences, perceptions, what is perceived, discussed, tasted, smelled, touched, thought and whatever they have heard about Land Reform and reflect these senses through Art.
I know in our society today, there are plenty of ideas and on-going debate pertaining to either current land policies or legal framework. During several engagements at various levels the Ministry has observed and sensed a need for a platform for discourse on land. This project, it is hoped, achieved its purpose to quench the apparent hunger to contribute, speak, and provide information that we wanted our Artistic members to bring forth using art as dialogue to educate us as a Nation. I assure you we will listen to the views of the people and as a Ministry are ready and willing to be educated. Twenty two years into independence people have a lot to say. This catalogue featuring the Artists’ work, thinking out of the box, is providing artistic reflections about their long history with Land Reform in our country, a chance to offer solutions to many of our challenges, be it in the form that generates productive debate on various issues and makes us as a Government think and enhances policy implementation or provides us with a chance to laugh at ourselves while learning important lessons. The Ministry will not hide behind policies, legislation but is open to dialogue as long as it contributes towards enhanced livelihoods for our people. As a Ministry, we do not profess to have solutions to every challenge in our communities; however, we look to be informed by the dynamics taking place in our country. These dynamics provide valuable lessons. As patron, I have been humbled by the dedication shown by the various Artists towards this project. I personally acknowledge all contributing artists, partners and sponsors who have worked tirelessly to make this project a resounding success. To the art fraternity in Namibia, we at the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement are eternally grateful and assure you that we have been blown away with the works that you have produced for the “Land Matters in Art project”, Our Land, Our Heritage, Our pride. Pleasant reading and viewing!
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Foreword
H. E. Onno Hückmann
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Land matters – in life as in the arts. This catalogue presents the Namibian art project entitled “Land Matters in Art: our land, our heritage, our pride”. It depicts a multitude of art works of various media, styles and topics all relating to land issues. On the following pages, 152 paintings, drawings, photographs, installations and sculptures are shown and described. The work will be displayed in a month-long exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Namibia and other prominent locations in Windhoek beginning on 27 March 2013. An expert jury carefully selected the works that had been submitted in the course of a competition launched by the Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Hon. Alpheus G. !Naruseb, at the Katutura Community Arts Centre on 5 October 2012. “Land matters” is a term with two meanings. On the one hand, it makes clear that land is of great importance to all Namibians. There are debates on issues such as fair distribution and resource allocation, commercialised agriculture and subsistence farming, security of tenure and social security, but also identity and tradition. On the other hand, the term “land matters” is a simple reference to the various aspects and topics pertaining to land as a cross-cutting issue pervading the lives of all Namibians. In addition to land rights and historical justice, land matters often concern technical questions of land usage and migration, environmental protection and degradation, as well as territorial control and governance. Last but not least, land is associated with the striking beauty and extraordinary variety of the Namibian landscape(s). Immediately after independence, the Namibian Government initiated a two-tier land reform focusing on both commercial and communal lands. On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the KfW Development Bank assisted the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement in redistributing land and ensuring it is used productively. A comprehensive public dialogue and debate on land-related policies is essential for the success of the critical and all-pervasive land reform agenda.
Not only Government officials, university professors, lawyers, farmers and other experts have to understand the intricate issues involved and to judge the progress made and the decisions to be taken. Civil society and the population at large should also be aware of what is going on in this field and is relevant to them. The arts scene often plays an important role as mediator between Government-initiated development policies and the public. Artists often function as agents to promote social transformation. “Land Matters in Art” is intended to encourage people to think and talk openly about land issues. The project is a collaborative effort involving a variety of Namibian institutions and associations, without whom its conception and implementation would have been impossible. In particular, the Arts Association Heritage Trust; the Art in the House Association – Promoting Art in Namibia; the Goethe-Centre Windhoek; the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre; the John Muafangejo Art Centre; the College of Arts; the Legal Assistance Centre Namibia; the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture; the Namibian Agricultural Union; the National Arts Council Namibia; the Namibian National Farmers Union; the National Art Gallery of Namibia; the University of Namibia’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts; and Visual Artists Namibia (VAN). As German Ambassador, I am proud that through the GIZ ‘Support to Land Reform’ programme, GermanNamibian Development Cooperation helped to initiate this project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement. My special thanks thus go to the Hon. Alpheus G. !Naruseb, Minister of Lands and Resettlement, who supported the undertaking as project patron. I sincerely hope that you will be as inspired as I am by the works shown in this catalogue and the upcoming exhibition!
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Foreword
Retha-Louise Hofmeyr
Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture When the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture was requested to become a partner in “Land Matters in Art�, we accepted because we were convinced that artists would take up the challenge and submit work of a high calibre in terms of artistic skill and content. The offer from the Directorate of Arts was to sponsor the lay-out and printing of the catalogue so that it could serve as a tangible record of artists’ responses to land matters. We were delighted: 120 artists handed in 270 top quality artworks informed by a wide range of topics. 152 artworks were finally selected by the selection panel. In many of the works artists have reflected on how ownership of land and cultural identity are interwoven. Ancestral heritage is seen to add spiritual value to land, but in many cases land is deliberately alienated from its historical or political context and developed as an economic asset only. Many of the works portray how the distribution and utilization of land shape the social environment and are central to food security, and household income and expenditure. In most of the works one is made aware of the fact that land is a limited natural resource and that human intervention
Project launch 5 October 2012 at the Katutura Community Arts Centre (KCAC)
should take this fragility into consideration. Fear that pillage of our natural resources by foreign powers could have devastating effects on sustainability was also expressed. Furthermore, artists have commented on the need for dialogue on the issue of redistribution of land and have criticized the greed that taints the real estate business. Artists have also expressed their concern about the dumping of toxic waste by mining enterprises, as well as the use of poisonous chemicals by the agricultural industry. We would like to urge other ministries to follow the example of the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement by encouraging artists to get involved in matters of national concern. This is a way to build awareness around all development issues that affect us and to promote responsible citizenship in Namibia.
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Why Art Matters in the Namibian Land Reform Process Martina Römer
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) – Support to Land Reform Since independence in 1990, the Government of the Republic of Namibia has been addressing the distorted structure of land ownership. At the time of Namibia’s independence a minority group owned most commercial farmland. Only 2.7% belonged to previously disadvantaged farmers. The Namibian Government thus faces the challenge of land reform that distributes land fairly in commercial areas and protects land rights in communal areas. Through land reform, the Government aims at redistributing land from the large-scale commercial sector to landless people and those with only marginal access to land. The reform is seen as the prerequisite for social and economic development, and is implemented through two parallel land reform programmes: • Communal land reform, which mainly involves improved control and regulation of the communal areas or ‘tribal’ land under traditional authority through communal land rights registration, and • Commercial land reform, which involves the redistribution of commercial farmland into previously disadvantaged hands through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme and National Resettlement Programme. Today, 7.5 million hectares of commercial farmland are already in the ownership of previously disadvantaged Namibians (one out of five commercial farms) – which accounts for half of the Government’s resettlement target of 15 million ha by 2020. Up to date, redistribution of commercial land has been achieved without violence and without illegal land grabs maintaining social peace. And yet, land reform remains a highly controversial issue. Namibian author Erika von Wietersheim sums up the feelings of Namibians towards the land reform process: for some it is too slow, for others too fast, for some too politicise, for others too commercialised. People are, however, unanimous that it is ‘emotional’ and ‘sensitive’. In response thereto, the Federal Government of Germany through the GIZ Support to Land Reform (SLR) programme is committed towards improving the Nation’s understanding of Land Reform in Namibia.
Much of the developing world is aware of the connection between culture and development. Culture can foster development processes as a method: cultural forms of expression such as theatre, music or visual arts can help to create a strong group dynamic and facilitate social integration. Culture, often expressed through the arts and creativity, is vital for developing a sense of identity, attachment to place and social participation. Cultural factors are also decisive for political development: freedom of expression and cultural confrontation are essential if people are to form their own political opinions and become politically engaged. As “change agents”, the creative professionals play an important role in social life. This project aims to enable Namibian visual artists of all classes, ages and cultural orientations to tell their side of the story, share with the Nation their understanding of land reform in Namibia and how they identify themselves with land and land reform. Land Reform in Visual Art is the centre of this focal area. A multi-level approach is pursued, offering a platform to Namibian visual artists to be part of the decision-making process in land reform. It also aims to encourage a stronger cooperation among Government ministries and between the public and private sector. By merging land and art, this project will hopefully support decision-makers in the implementation of the various land reform programmes, taking into account the views of the Namibian society, as expressed through artwork. At the same time it will hopefully create a deeper understanding within the Namibian society of the existing projects and programmes currently undertaken by the government, especially by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, the successes achieved so far and the challenges that go along with such a reform process. Hopefully these exhibitions will result in discussions on various aspects of land and land reform, and provide us all with new and constructive views on land reform in Namibia.
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Why Art Matters in the Namibian Land Reform Process
Hercules Viljoen
Director National Art Gallery of Namibia
Culture is an important indicator of a nation’s collective conscience. Therefore it is no coincidence that a decision was taken to bring visual art into the arena to address the Namibian land issue. The reasons for inviting visual artists to create artworks about the land matter could be manifold. One rationale may be that art is a potentially powerful metaphor for “hard” realities. Visual art’s “free” and unconventional formats allow the artist to express in unique ways aspects of our individual and collective conscience that we find difficult to express in literal terms. Art’s creative approaches and sometimes unusual formats may stimulate sensibilities not normally triggered in conventional forms of communication. The established belief that participation in artistic activities encourages creativity while problem solving abilities originate in creative thinking is true both for the artist and for the audience interpreting the artwork. In other words, a surprising cycle of creative communication is fulfilled once the artwork is interpreted by a viewer. Finally, these artworks may stimulate creative dialogue which may lead to new insights about the land issue. It is profoundly true that artistic expression has a healing effect on its practitioners and consumers. The American novelist and Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morisson acknowledged the potential of art to “heal and nurture by the translation of experience into art”... Many an artist has re-interpreted the objects of war to create aesthetic objects of peace and reconciliation. An example is the furniture welded from sub-machine guns by the Mozambican artist Kester. Other artists who address social and political issues are the African Amercian Radcliffe Bailey and the Kenyan Sane Wadu. The Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes creates functioning musical instruments from seized gang weapons. Likewise, the Namibian artist Fillipus Sheehama recycles plastic packaging to create cultural “landscapes” while Rika Nel explores identity through the application of maize products.
The exhibition represents a number of outstanding approaches, each addressing the topic of land from a different artistic perspective. Each work expresses an idea relevant to the land matter in a unique way allowing many valid interpretations of those opinions, including aspects of land ownership and environmental concerns. Although based on the artist’s unique, personal perspective, every artwork may evoke a wide range of interpretations from different viewers – all equally valid, depending on the viewer’s own life experience, education, cultural orientation, political allegiance or any other factor that may contribute to an individual’s perspective. A good artwork, and there are many exceptional works in this exhibition, has a multi-layered life of its own, which gives it the power to evoke a range of creative responses from the audience. In this sense the finely crafted graphite drawings by Gisela Marnewecke are as inspiring as the poignant imaginations of “veldkos” by the members of the San art cooperatives. The selection procedure, conducted by a well-balanced panel representing a range of expertise, interests and knowledge relevant to the theme, involved a thorough and intensive process of debate, discussion and analysis. Every artwork was afforded as much time as required to arrive at a conclusive result. It is truly believed that every artwork in this exhibition will inspire someone in the audience in a special way. It is sincerely hoped that many a viewer will leave the exhibition inspired and fulfilled with a new sense of creative awareness; and that the creative experience may encourage lively discussions that in turn may lead to invigorated attempts at solving elusive problems.
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Participating Artists
Abusema, Sofia
Marott-Alpers, Hanne
Amakali, Lukas Kaunambi
Marthin, Sageus “Ziggy“
Amukoto, David Megameno
Mbereshu, Maria
Boepens, Lisa
McNamara, Rowan Roscoe
Brandt, Nicola
McRoberts, Cathy
Britz, Paulina
Mutambirwa, Rutendo „Arnold“
Britz, Betty
Muteka, Sadia
Courtney-Clarke, Margaret
Mvula, Alpheus
Cowley, Kay
N!awe (Haushona), Hilia
Dam, Elsie
!Nuxab (Nugab), Bernardus
Dicks, Trudi
Nakale, Trianus Laameka Komwene
Diergaardt, Jaimee-Lee Eugene
Nakale, Immanuel
Eins, Stephan
Nambinga, Frans
Esbach, Helena Linda
Nampala, Johannes Ndilipune
Figueira & Harris, Gina & Helen
Ndjavera, David
Fischer, Jazine Audrick Chris
Nel, Rika
Gatsi, Tafadzwa Mitchell
Nghiidileko, Kalapufye
Gooieman, Magdalena
Nghipandulwa, Fillow Ilenikuye
Haikali, Penda
Nukuale, Emmencey
Haipinge, Moses
Pirron, Barbara
Haipinge, Kaleb
Remmert, Urte-Roswita
Hamukanda, Hendelina
Sakaria, Filiemon
Hamunyela, Abraham
Sampson, John
Hidishange, Robert Max Metumo
Shaanika, Justus Natangwe
Ilovu, Actofel
Sheehama, Fillipus
Indongo, Marina
Shikongeni, Papa
Joseph, Onesmus
Shikongo, Ina Maria
Kahungi, Ujama
Shikumba, Filipus
Kandjengo, Lok
Shilongo, Simeon
Kanghono, Immanuel
Shivute, Ismael Aludhilu
Kapembe, Isack Mvula
Shiwoohamba, Elia
Karon, Dimitri Marvin
Skowski, Christine Eva Maria
Kasube, Maria
Snyman, Chris
Kavantjindje, Martha
Somseb, Joseph
Kharuxab, Ronald Kevin
Straube, Siegfried
Kiddo, Paul
Ting, Barton Zi Shang
Kisting, Jo-Mare
Tshilumba, Tity Kalala
Koegelenberg, Luke Nicholas
Tsueb, Lena
Kristof, Berta
UNAM Students, 2nd year Textile group 2012
Leyendecker, Ramon
van Schalkwyk, Paul
Lühl, Phillip
Wechslberger, Kirsten
Lühl, Frieda
Werra, Myriam
Magot, Katrina
Xatu (Naufilia), Josephina
Magot, Sannie
Xaue (Andreas), Ester
Marais, Nicky Marnewecke, Gisela
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Selection Panel
Max Edison, Designer Annaleen Eins, Arts Association Heritage Trust Ervast Mtota, Artist and Deputy Director, Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture Martina Römer, GIZ – Support to Land Reform Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Meredith Palumbo, University of Namibia – Department Visual & Performing Arts Hercules Viljoen, Director, National Art Gallery of Namibia with the assistance of Mariele Davel as mediator and facilitator
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Artworks
ERF 0032-0152 All artworks appear in the catalogue in the same order in which they were received. As the artists handed in their works for the exhibition they were given a receipt or registration number, this number is referred to as their ERF number and it determines their placement in the catalogue. Some numbers are missing because not all works handed in were accepted by the jury for exhibition.
All artwork comments are personal statements of the artist. P = Professional, N = Nonprofessional, S = Student
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Hanne Marott-Alpers ERF 0032 Is Our Water Safe In Your Hands?, 2013 Land Art Installation and Happening
Is Our Water Safe In Your Hands? The Process of making the Land Art Installation [29 Days]. 1. Paulisi Kambonde cutting phragmites, 5
common reed in Omaruru river bed. 2. Maria Thamas cutting of the 5000 flags. 3. Working hands. Anita Dahl and Sabine Stumpfe gluing flags. 4. Art material. 5000 reed sticks ready for use. 5. Drawing in the river sand. Position of reed flags. 6. Sharks in the sand. Welded mild steel. Black paint. 7. The end of the plastic river. 8. Spiral of life. Beginning of the installation flowing towards the Omaruru bridge. 9. Distant view of the installation in the landscape. © Hanne Marott-Alpers [1, 2, 3, 5, 9] © Anita Maier [4, 6, 8, 7]
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“Only when the cows are bellowing, succumbing to thirst, will you remember the story of the 5000 reeds and learn.”
reform debate because what use is the land without sustainable abstraction and equitable distribution of water?
This Land Art Installation consists of 5000 reeds with a blue cloth or plastic wimple attached. The reed wimples are placed in the shape of a spiral in the middle of the Omaruru River, East of the bridge, covering approximately 9240 sqm, 330 meters long and 28 metres wide, giving an impression of the river running.
How can resettlement farms become economic without sufficient water supply and without taking the land’s carrying capacity into account? Can emerging farmers pay back their loans to Agri Bank? What will be the effect on the Namibian economy if a large number of those farmers taking loans default?
The idea was to create a sensation of surrealism and magnitude to prompt awareness of the fact that all water utilised in Henties Bay and most of Swakopmund comes from the bone dry ephemeral Omaruru River. In the middle of this sea of blue reed wimples, a larger than man-sized shark’s fin of steel will be seen, symbolizing the shark mentality which characterises our current senseless water consumption. At the end of the blue wimple river an area of scattered bleached animal bones show the effects on the land if the river stops running. 100 metres of cotton cloth, 10 kg glue and 4500 blue plastic bags were used. The title stresses my concern about the ownership of water and whether our politicians are handling this resource, essential to life, with sufficient seriousness and long-term view to ensure the survival of all living organisms. I have introduced the water element into the land
What will be the effect on the Namibian economy if water to Swakopmund and Henties Bay has to be desalinated? Is it more important to have ephemeral rivers providing fodder, shade and shelter for man and beasts or to have empty apartment blocks and lawns in the desert? Where should we develop the country, around rivers or around deserts? Should we all have flush toilets and let water evaporate from swimming pools or should we encourage food security through green schemes and livestock? My title is a question because currently Namibia has no relevant, up-to-date legislation on water utilisation. Although there is a national water policy, there is no national water demand management plan in place for Namibia. Meanwhile humans, beasts and plants are at the mercy of grand building projects and mining, which only provide shortterm benefits to the people in the areas affected. 9
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© Anita Maier
Making art today is synonymous with assuming responsibility for our fellow human beings. (Agnes Denes)
This artwork is a tribute to the Namibian Ephemeral Rivers and Riverine Forests on whose health our survival depends. It hopes to inspire our nation to treat our very scarce water resources in a semi-arid desert environment with much greater reverence. The artwork is ephemeral just like the river. It will only last for a few days and then only the sound of 5000 wimples fluttering in the wind will be stored in the memory of the river sand.
Margit Decker, Sabine Stumpfe, Anita Dahl, Anita Maier, Family Hinterholtzer/Schmidt, Peter Arndt, Otji Toilets, Alfeus Mvula, Martin/Budgi Rosenberg, Dirk Kuzatjike, Wolfgang Christian, Gudrun Mueller, Beduel K Herunga, Vistoh, Domingo Zacharias, Levi Doeseb, Gideon Afrikaner, Patrick Geiseb, Ronaldo Kuba, Leonard Haodom, Fabianus Shindimba, Sandra Mueller, Marc Hoberman, Jean Pierre Bottazzoli, Bjoern Rehder.
“Is Our Water Safe In Your Hands?” involved over 30 volunteers from the Omaruru community and beyond: from school children to pensioners, native Namibians to German tourists. I feel the words of Agnes Denes express exactly why these people chose to participate. My heartfelt thanks to all who chose to take action in favour of their fellow men. This art project was financially unsupported and would not have happened without your generous contribution of ideas, time, enthusiasm and hard physical work. © Anita Maier
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Rika Nel ERF 0033 Upside-down-world, 2010-2013 Installation, 106 x 183 x 201 cm
Maize as a material was chosen because of its cultural significance and the pureness and truthfulness of the material. These simple materials from daily life are used to perturb the boundaries between art and nature and to point out the interdependence among all organic life forms. The concepts involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. The maize products as an art material are used in such a way that the integrity and character of the material is upheld although still enhancing the metaphorical content of the artwork. Maize as an ephemeral material enabled the artist to create a narrative of the rhythms of life which is all about the symbolic expression of human existence as the interplay of the planned (war, land reform, and redistribution of farm land, etc.) and the unforeseen (droughts, floods, etc.) which leads to poverty. It is about our journey through life and all the diverse influences upon us. The artworks are metaphors for the eternal cycle of life, growth, and all the attendant emotions that colour human existence. The examination of my own history and own present,
supplies food for thought and ground for discussion where the individual language leads to an all inclusive expression. It is a myth of losses. Not only of what we are doing to the earth but also what we are doing to each other. In Upside-down World the inversing of the objects, removed from their original, natural context has created an aesthetic metaphor for the disturbed environment. Binding the bundles of cobs with red string suggests we are sometimes being restrained and misused by those who should love and protect us. By exploiting the environment we starve instead of being fed by it. Maize Kernel footprints, symbolises the ‘footprint’ we leave on the earth and on each other. Nothing, not good or bad, goes by without leaving some sort of mark or scar, whether it is on the land, on our physical beings or on our souls. The Scorched Earth Series represents taking care of the land which has a circling or rippling effect on crops and, therefore, on food production and on life. Although we cannot foresee droughts and floods we can take care of our environment.
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© Katharina Wyss
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© Leigh Daniz
Kay Cowley ERF 0034 Desert Rain, 2013 Kinetic Mobile Installation inspired by the title of Jackson Kaujeua’s autobiography “Tears over the Desert” 200 x 200 x 600 cm
“Desert Rain” is a mobile sculpture, a two-meter wide circular armature from which various sizes of sand teardrops are suspended, up to 4-6 m in length, depending on the height of the ceiling. The sand teardrops are made from the different colours and types of sand from the different areas of Namibia: Kalahari sand, Sossusvlei sand, Karabib marble dust, Namib Desert sand, Oshana sand, Mahangu field sand, etc. It also includes sand from outside Namibia,
which has historical and political relevance, such as sand from the southernmost tip of Africa and the sand of Robben Island. The sand represents all the various cultures, peoples and places of Namibia, and the teardrops represent the tears of joy, happiness, sadness, frustration, laughter, etc. of each and every ordinary person making up the nation of Namibia. The tenuous link between water and desert is also evident.
The art performance “Desert Rain“ is part of the installation concept, documented on a video. The performance is a collaboration between UNAM Visual and Performing Arts lectures and students, and presented during the exhibition opening 27 March 2013 at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (visit YouTube).
Siegfried Straube  ERF 0035  Dune 45 Bottom to Crest, 2007-2012 Digital Photograph, 40 x 113 cm Gigantic Dune 45 in beauty and silence visited by more than hundred thousand of tourists each year. An ambience of pristine nature reveals the beauty of the oldest desert of the world, a magical journey on route to Sossusvlei, Namib Naukluft Park, NAMIB
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Trudi Dicks ERF 0038.1 Dolosse (1), 2013 Liftground Etching, 55 x 66 cm Trudi Dicks ERF 0038.2 Dolosse (2), 2013 Liftground Etching, 55 x 66 cm Trudi Dicks ERF 0038.3 Assemblage, 2013 Pods, Copper, Wire, 50 x 53 cm Having worked with plants since the conclusion of the Avis Dam Art Project I have worked with representational images, made of clays. Moulds in plastic, resin and serpentine stone 3D carvings of plants found in my garden. The pods from the Brachychiton (Kurrajong), a huge tree in our garden, are full of character, tremendously strong and have a beauty of their own. The 3D Dolos Rankiekie is a good name for the playful sculpture of the pods, with some left as picked up and others varnished. The playful use of copper wire has been such a joy in the creative process. Art has been part of our garden for many years and to be able to use materials produced by it is satisfactory in the creative process. The lift-ground technique used in the making of the metal etchings is also a playful technique. The creativity of these objects is a reflection of my own character and way of living: a strong link between artist, the process and eventual objects.
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Barbara Pirron ERF 0039.1 Land Matters – Burning Issues, 2013 Collage, Graphic Medium on Paper, 56 x 75 cm
Why not a pleasing, decorative watercolour of our pristine Namibian Landscape? Instead there lingers a smouldering, devastating fire through the bush encompassing precious land and life within, sending its smoke right to heaven. “Burning issue” is a
metaphor for the ‘hot’ controversial issue and its fears for the ‘have’ and hopes for the ‘have-nots’ around land possession and redistribution. The squares and the re-directing middle line symbolise “fencing off”, boundaries and dividing plots.
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Barbara Pirron ERF 0039.2 Tokoloshe – Foreboding, 2013 Collage, Thread, Oil on Canvas, 70 x 80 cm
Multilayered concept: collages of an overseas newspaper cutting, part of a torn sketchbook and a local written proclamation all directly refer to the controversial ongoing issues around land ownership. The black entangled thread encircling cocoonlike red forms symbolises ‘to mend’, to preserve. One of the 3 figures (right corner) is turning away referring to “3 people 3 opinions”. The staccato lines scribbling nervously across the painting reflect ongoing commotion. Can Tokoloshe, the powerful supernatural spirit disguised as an animal head, act as a guardian of the land?
Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.1 A Struggle for Man and Animal, Maltahöhe District, 2011 (25) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.2 Mupewa’s Front Yard, DRC, Swakopmund, 2012 (20) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm
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Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.5 No Security of Tenure, DRC, Swakopmund, 2012 (23) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm In the late 1970s when I photographed Namibia from the Kunene to the Orange River and beyond, from Windhoek to Walvis Bay and in between, land reform was the primary reason for those who participated in the liberation struggle. Today the struggle for a majority of Namibians is survival, to subsist and often to merely exist on the very land they fought for. Facts! 25 % of Namibia’s 2 million people live a most basic life in informal settlements, in rudimentary shelters, in shacks, with no security of tenure Thousands of Namibian families live on patches of desolate, wasted and overgrazed land where survival depends on a drop of rain that may fall Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.6 No Construction behind the Boundary Line, DRC, Swakopmund, 2012 (18) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm
Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.3 A Frail Start on an Illegal Erf, DRC, Swakopmund, 2012 (19) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm Margaret Courtney-Clarke ERF 0042.4 A Burnt Mountain, An Arid Land, A Hopeful Family (24) Digital Photograph on 100% Cotton Fine Art Paper, 28 x 38 cm
Water, ever more scarce, trickles in some places, often none at all And the resettlement process displaces as many people as it resettles 35 % of households use the bush or open air toilets Twenty two years after Independence In a wealthy country Why!
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Onesmus Joseph ERF 0043 Momandoloma, 2011 Mixed Media on Board, 64 x 74 cm Momandoloma is an Oshiwambo word which simply means dustbins/dumping sites. Artists never speak, but we see better than those who speak! We see what other people failed to see. Instead of shouting we speak with minds and through minds we can express our feelings/stories through creativity. They speak in tongue but I speak through my artwork. Land Matters in Namibia is something that our people speak but they cannot see that it really affects the lives of our people badly. Therefore, in this artwork I am just trying to tell my people that unequal distribution of land increases poverty and forces people to eat from dustbins. Land issues force people to build shacks in the mountains.
David Megameno Amukoto ERF 0044 Kume Palm Tree, 2011 Cardboardprint on Paper, 59.2 x 23.7 cm
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John Sampson ERF 0045.1 No Toxic Dumping (in Namibia), 2012-2013 Acrylic and Carborundum on Canvas, 135 x 166 cm
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John Sampson ERF 0045.2 No Arable Land!, 2012-2013 Acrylic and Carborundum on Canvas, 135 x 167 cm John Sampson ERF 0045.3 Disconnected, 2012-2013 Acrylic and Carborundum on Canvas, 148 x 100 cm
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John Sampson ERF 0045.4 Mining in the Central Namib, 2013 Acrylic and Carborundum on Canvas, 179.5 x 86 cm
Maria Mbereshu ERF 0046.1 Village Life, 2013 Acrylic on Cardboard, 62.3 x 93.4 cm The background is green, it represents the trees at the village but mostly it is telling us about ploughing at the village. The leaf shows how people at the village use trees in different forms, some trees are edible and some they use them for shelters. The orange represents the fire; this is very important in the village because it is the only place where families can get together.
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Simeon Shilongo ERF 0047 Urbanisation, 2012 Mixed Media on Board, 30 x 90 cm
Maria Mbereshu ERF 0046.2 African Beauty, 2013 Acrylic on Cardboard, 62.3 x 93.4 cm
Urbanisation is a vital matter relating to land in Namibia, where people move from rural areas to urban areas looking for jobs, education, a better living, etc. In Namibia we have more people in towns than in rural areas. In my artwork you can see some rural houses/or Oshiwambo houses and then houses in urban areas and two people with their bags moving from traditional houses to town to gain a better living. You can see the tar road in town and the light in the street and the gravel road in the rural areas. How can one overcome increasing urbanisation? We should introduce employment, better education and build-together programmes in the rural areas and a good infrastructure so that people will have no choice but to stay right where they are. Art is where we were born, it is my culture and I express myself through art and bring out my inner feelings through art; my artwork is like a story.
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Sageus “Ziggy“ Marthin ERF 0049.1 Afrikan Live!, 2010 Cardboardprint on Paper, 36.7 x 67.5 cm
We all live in a beautiful Namibia, land of the brave, where we stay as one. Our population is growing very fast and we are becoming overcrowded. Many of us live in shacks, or shanties where more than six up to ten people stay in one small place in a ghetto and some do not have enough income to buy land for themselves, some have nowhere to stay, some stay in riverbeds, some in the mountains as long as they have a place to rest their heads. Land and houses must be given and built easily where people can afford it based
Sageus “Ziggy“ Marthin ERF 0049.2 One Namibia, One Nation, 2010 Cardboardprint on Paper, 41.7 x 144.4 cm This is artwork talking about and portraying the life of farmers who live in the rural areas. These are the people who have livestock and we need to concentrate on them. These people need land for grazing and cultivation, to put up housing, schools, clinics, and shops and they also need water and electricity. They live on only a small area of land, where they have many cattle and goats and sometimes the land they live on is not their land and it’s not enough for their livestock and their families. So let the government look at this issue and let the ones who have much share with the ones who don’t have. We are not poor, we just need to share the land on an equal basis. Let us stand as one, as one Namibia, one nation, one government, one people! Let us share for a better life and in a peaceful Namibia and share our good fruits. One love, one government, one nation.
on the small amount of money they earn or have. The generation of today is growing up fast and also they need houses as they grow up. Jobs must be created. We need to feel safe at home. We know about it, we live it, we see it, but now is time for a change, for us to share the land among those who don’t have land. It’s a dream that needs to come true for Vision 2030. For everyone to feel at home and have a home in that time to come.
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Paul Kiddo ERF 0055 Okahandja Park, 2013 Acrylic on Board, 51.9 x 69.5 cm This painting talks about a community where violence, theft, poverty and overcrowding exist. Teenage pregnancy and unemployment also exist. Littering is a common factor spoiling land and with unemployment there is a rise in prostitution.
Ujama Kahungi ERF 0058 Distribution of Land, 2012 Clay and Glaze, 16 x 31 x 51 cm Arts ignite creativity: Land reform requires creative innovative minds to address this prolonged land distribution issue. My art project depicts the current status-quo through congestion – space for family expansion is limited due to lack of land.
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Johannes Ndilipune Nampala ERF 0062.1 Land is a Mother, 2012 Soapstone, 29 x 13 x 65 cm The land is the mother to all citizens. In this artwork I try to show the example of the mother, who has two babies in her womb and she carries them and feeds them equally. The same thought should be applied to the land which should be shared equally for all citizens who are her children.
Johannes Ndilipune Nampala ERF 0062.2 Land Mark, 2012 Soapstone, 48 x 23 x 27 cm This foot sculpture symbolises the freedom of movement in Namibia, which we enjoy every day and the people who visited our beloved land are free to travel around the whole country without fear.
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Penda Haikali ERF 0064 Africa Hold Their Land, 2012 Clay Mosaic Table with Clay Cups, 62 x 68 x 75 cm
It means that African people organise their meetings to discuss their African land resettlement and how it will develop and how they decide to put their different ideas on the table.
Lukas Kaunambi Amakali ERF 0066 Celebrating Land Matters (2, 3, 5), 2012 Analog Photography, 59.4 x 84.1 cm
The students from the College of the Arts are still challenging each other about their careers, because some of them are successful and some of them fail.
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Tafadzwa Mitchell Gatsi ERF 0067.1 The Long Way, 2012 Pencil on Paper, 21 x 29.7 cm
Tafadzwa Mitchell Gatsi ERF 0067.2 Kambashu Art, 2012 Pencil on Paper, 29.7 x 42 cm
The title “Long Way” is based on the migration of Namibian animals from place to place (elephants), and we need to protect them and the environment for the future generations to come.
The title of the artwork is “Kambashu Art”. The story of my work is to show how/where some Namibians settle when times get hard and try to live a better life on the piece of land they are on.
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Trianus Laameka Komwene Nakale ERF 0070.1 Wetlands, 2012 Pencil on Paper, 48 x 64 cm
Trianus Laameka Komwene Nakale ERF 0070.2 Precious Source, 2012 Ballpoint and Ink Pen on Paper, 45 x 64 cm
The artwork “Wetlands” is about the heavy rainy seasons and floods that come all over the north of Namibia. Land really matters in art because it creates good images or pictures to draw about or to paint about.
The title “precious source” means that land is a very important source of life. Without it there is no life. It grows vegetation for our animals and livestock to graze on.
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Ismael Aludhilu Shivute  ERF 0072  They Became Enemies, 2013 Scrap Metal and Wood, 79 x 80 x 79 cm
Over the past years, Namibia has made giant economic strides to better the lives of its people. True wealth, however, is still concentrated in the hands of a few people. As an artist I face a big challenge to live. So we are now chopping down
our trees so that we can live either by selling firewood or by making artworks from them. Since deforestation continues to increase, there are some factors which need to be taken into consideration before we make our country a desert forever.
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Marina Indongo ERF 0073.1 Stop Burning Bushes (1), 2013 Acrylic on Canvas, 42 x 29.7 cm Marina Indongo ERF 0073.2 Stop Burning Bushes (2) Acrylic on Canvas, 42 x 29.7 cm The idea is to encourage people to stop burning bushes and to know that we need those bushes in our land.
38 Cathy McRoberts ERF 0075.1 Not Complicated, 2012 Mixed Media on Paper, 47 x 49 cm Of course it is complicated so the title is ironic. Any change that involves the cooperation of human beings is complicated because we are complicated. This piece started with weaving together a collage of maps of Namibia with a collage of writing about the land. That did not say enough and so the elements of humans and animals were added to extend the discussion. The piece is layered in an attempt to describe the concerns and interests around the issue. The final addition – the sun – is the only constant.
Cathy McRoberts ERF 0075.2 324.558, 2012 Mixed Media, 60 x 60 cm (9 x 17 x 17 cm) If you divide up the arable land in Namibia equally per capita the result is 36.062 hectares per person. Each of the framed works represents one person, hence the title. 36.062 x 9 = “324.558” This work progressed in fits and starts. First collecting the materials which are offcuts of textiles, textile dyes, textile paints, acrylic paints, etc. then creating nine small collages about being in Namibia in different places and times.
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Fillipus Sheehama  ERF 0076.1  Savanna-Land, 2013 Recycled Plastic, 170 x 100 cm
Savanna-Land is created to reflect the idea of nuturing the land and its resources. The striped patterns represent the wild animals such as zebra which is one of the beautiful wild animals.
These animals are found in game parks and zoos and attract tourists and other animal lovers. The artwork is created from recycled plastic which can also contribute to a healthy environment.
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Fillipus Sheehama ERF 0076.2 Celebration, 2013 Recycled Plastic, 160 x 120 cm Celebration artwork is created intentionally to explore the concept of food production. It is reminding us that land is not only important for housing but also for food production in order for us to be able to live a decent life. There are various kinds of fruits, vegetables and other food that reflect our social life events. To celebrate life one needs to have access to food or land in order to produce enough food for one to earn a living.
Fillipus Sheehama ERF 0076.3 Mapping, 2013 Recycled Plastic and Thorns 120 x 100 cm This artwork was created to conceptualise the idea of the sensitivity of the land issue in Namibia, which is the difficulty of owning land or a house currently. The thorns were used as a symbol of pain for the people who are desperate for houses and for those who have now been on the waiting list for ages.
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Actofel Ilovu ERF 0077.1 Land Master, 2012 Cardboardprint on Paper, 76 x 96 cm
The process of going to the municipality, to go ask the land master or head man in the village for permission to own land is really not fair because of the rich who own more than ten pieces of land. So if people aren’t rich, they are not able to manipulate those people from the municipality or the head man’s house.
Actofel Ilovu ERF 0077.2 Remove 1, 2, 3, 2012 Cardboardprint, Charcoal Drawing (Tryptic) 38 x 150 cm (as set)
The idea came from the Kabashu that was removed from the Havana location. This word “remove” has been preying on my mind and it was a shock to me when I saw the municipality destroying peoples’ kabashus there; so the municipality isn’t there for us. They are just there to keep the land and not to give it away. In the artwork there is much empty space that shows that we have much space in Namibia too, but it is just for decoration.
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Urte-Roswita Remmert ERF 0078 Light on a Thorny Issue, 2013 Lightbox with Collage, Paper Cutouts 80 x 80 cm All over the world land and land possession has always and will always be a thorny issue. Great wars have been and are fought over land. Land has always been possessed, expropriated, re-possessed. Land creates a sense of belonging, identity and produces a livelihood. In Namibia, throughout history borders and ownership were changed and adapted by tribes’ claims to land. In colonial times, borders were demarcated on official maps, giving possession to individuals, at the same time taking away from tribes. Today it is generally accepted that this unjust land-distribution has to be rectified. 1. Think beyond our own borders (cutting our barbed wire-fences in our brains) 2. An on-going dialogue amongst all stakeholders 3. Greed (land-grabs) should not be tolerated 4. Realistic pricing of plots/ farms 5. Prevent exploitation of poor 6. Support new land-owners/ sharing knowledge 7. Know different values attatched to land 8. Shared responsibility for our country I ran and touched the ground and rubbed the earth between my fingers. I touched the trees. I sucked the air into my lungs. It held the scents of my childhood memories...... Oh, God, this was my place. I started to cry with the joy of being back home. Waris Dirie, from ‘Desert Flower’
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Frans Nambinga ERF 0079.1 Littering Land, 2013 Mixed Media, 110 x 1376 cm
Frans Nambinga ERF 0079.2 Vandaliser, 2013 Mixed Media, 75.5 x 101.8 cm
Littering is portraying a landfill from garbage that was created by a pile of rubbish which could be a danger for animals and plants. My aim is to tell the people not to create / throw the rubbish anywhere, in order to keep our environment clean.
Vandaliser is an artwork created to reflect the shock of people about shacks that are demolished in townships. The footprint represents the marks of the destroyers while wire is used as a symbol for protection of properties.
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Bernardus !Nuxab (Nugab) ERF 0080 In the National Art Gallery, 2013 Mixed Media on Board, 33 x 42 cm
Kalapufye Nghiidileko ERF 0081 Kaxuxwena Hadela Nyoko, 2012 Cardboard on Paper, 60 x 42 cm Our land is our daily bread. We live on earth where we do everything every day. We respect fully and feel proud to be having land for free. To everyone our land is our pride. It is important in our life where we set up our farms with several kinds of animals such as chickens.
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Gina Figueira/Helen Harris ERF 0085 Their Boundaries, Our Borders, 2012 Video Installation, Insulators, String, Video This stop motion footage is the documentation of a six hour performance that took place at Avis Dam, just outside Windhoek, on 6 December 2012. This work was formed through an intuitive process using found materials that were restricted and aided by the existing landscape. The white insulators used as anchoring points were found on the road between Swakopmund and Windhoek. These ceramic objects create points of nexus from which lines of string run, up, down and across the ground and mountain forming a network of interconnected spaces. This large three-dimensional drawing in space mirrors the many ways in which the Namibian landscape is boundaried and divided by human intervention and temporality. Territorial spaces can be demarcated by fences
and walls but also pipelines, telephone poles, roads and farm boundaries. This artwork highlights the often arbitrariness of our borders in the context of a natural landscape. The landscape continues to exist without the borders, but without the landscape the borders would be superfluous. The artwork exists in its construction and also in its deconstruction. In this documentation of it we witness both, and begin to form the questions: What would we be without our boundaries? Can we exist without them? Are they simply remnants of a brutal colonial past? Are we implicit in their making and formation? These are questions that need to be asked as we look critically at our territorial society and its implications.
N.B Music in video: “Goodbye War, Hello Peace” by Teru as found on http://ccmixter.org/content/teru/teru_-_Goodbye_War_Hello_Peace.mp3
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Tity Kalala Tshilumba ERF 0087 Right of Shelter, 2013 Oil on Canvas, 91 x 60 cm
Rowan Roscoe McNamara ERF 0088 Sunset, 2013 Acrylic on Canvas, 76 x 101 cm Few appear to have noticed that a second “scramble for Africa” is under way. With every day that passes, China‘s economic colonisation extends deeper into Africa and Namibia is no exception. While Europe sought direct political control, China is acquiring a vast and informal economic empire. This painting explores this modern threat to our land from the individual to a national scale.
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Elia Shiwoohamba ERF 0090 The Traditional House of Namibia, 2008 Linocut on Paper, 30 x 42 cm
Papa Shikongeni ERF 0091 Waiting to Receive, 2013 Cardboard on Paper, 66 x 59 cm Waiting to receive from our ancestors whose blood waters our land. The land is not just a difficult problem for our people, but there are uncertainties leading to unknown fear which will lead to chaotic situations on the land matters for the people who will be in competition with one another for scarce traditional land and resources – as a matter of national policy waiting to receive. Needs and concerns of landless people in the land reform process, by thus possessing the land our people must reproduce on the wildlife and vegetation. Continously on traditional form. Land needs to be valued, and be seen as adding value for the new generations and people‘s lives. And above all, this form of art has to be seen as a form of expression that mirrors our society, and carries with it both heritage, freedoms and responsibilities, land for growth or working on it for the pride of our Ancestral land. Only through your suffering and experience do you recognize the symbol of freedom that you are in fact the Land.
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Chris Snyman ERF 0092 Ocean of Ironies (Black Canvas Series), 2013 Mixed Media (Oil, steel, on a wall for a pondok), 240 x 270 cm
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Moses Haipinge ERF 0094.1 My Time, 2012 Oil Pastel on Paper, 97 x 82 cm What I would like to say again is that people of our homeland should keep supporting local products to empower our own nation and motivate them and reduce unemployment in our land. Local is Lekker!!!
Moses Haipinge ERF 0094.2 Homestead, 2013 Mixed Media in Board, 120.2 x 78.7 cm
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Helena Linda Esbach  ERF 0096  Five Minutes to Midnight, 2012 Textile-AppliquĂŠ, 170 x 240 cm
Global warming, destroying of fauna and flora and the pollution of water and of land resources are reflected in the colours of this quilt. Birds with hanging heads in the skeleton of a former savannah giant urge us as Namibians to look after the land we are dependent on. Degradation of land means overutilisation of water resources and that the diversity of Namibia with all its
cultures will be lost. The multi faceted nature of life is depicted in the fragmented small pieces of fabric, featuring San art, the big five and indigenous art. Everyone in Namibia has to decide on land matters which will make a difference between our currently vibrant land and a degraded one.
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Jazine Audrick Chris Fischer ERF 0098 After the Storm is Gone, 2012 Mixed Media Collage, 54.5 x 82.5 cm
I like to work on people as my subject matter where I focus on social issues, trying to tell a story or issues related to identity, child abuse, fear, homelessness, poverty or survival, etc. I do this so that some of the viewers can easily relate to the storyline that I want to give through my artwork because everyone will at some point go through similar issues or witness these and might make a difference to those in need.
Kaleb Haipinge ERF 0103.1 Land on Auction for Two Million, 2013 Acrylic on Canvas, 120 x 35 cm
It’s true what they say about life being unfair today; how I wish I could have met the ones that knew when life was fair then. Mother nature is for all. How comes it belongs to some that can ask a group of people to pay thirty thousand dollars up to a million dollars for land, and call it fair at all?
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Kaleb Haipinge ERF 0103.2 The Land Known as Housing and Property, 2013 Digital Photograph, 49 x 216 cm
Fillow Ilenikuye Nghipandulwa ERF 0104 Equal Land for All, 2012 Mixed Media, 137 x 76 cm All I need is Land!!
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Robert Max Metumo Hidishange  ERF 0105  Diversity and Unity, 2013 Mixed Media, 130 x 77 cm The land cannot survive in a healthy environmental way if we do not celebrate and encourage diversity. We also need to be united in our desire to preserve our natural heritage and cultural traditions but the only way to ensure survival is to strengthen the celebration of diversity.
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Kirsten Wechslberger ERF 0106.1 Capitalist Boundaries 1, 2013 Mixed Media on Canvas, 120 x 120 cm Kirsten Wechslberger ERF 0106.2 Capitalist Boundaries 2,2013 Mixed Media on Canvas, 120 x 120 cm The artwork speaks about the artificial boundaries created by humans (borders). This drives the capitalist system of the rich to become richer and poor become poorer. Poor have less access to land. Rich countries throw away food while people starve in other countries. JUST BECAUSE OF BORDERS
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Paul van Schalkwyk ERF 0107.1 Damaraland, Namibia, 2013 Digital Photography on Fine Art Paper 29.7 x 42 cm Paul van Schalkwyk ERF 0107.2 Kuiseb Canyon, Namib Desert, 2013 Digital Photography on Fine Art Paper 29.7 x 42 cm
NORTH WEST REGION / DAMARALAND‘: The arid North Western region of Namibia, or so called “Damaraland”, is home to the largest population of free roaming Black Rhino in the world. Other equally iconic species, such as the uniquely evolved desert elephants and lions, who over time have adapted to the harsh environment, are also found here. The local tribesmen lead an equally difficult life of many hardships brought about by the inhospitable climate. In many ways the area still offers a multitude of pristine and untouched landscapes yet to be subjugated by modern humans. Nevertheless they have subscribed to conservation
ideals, and the end result will benefit the entire nation, because this area is a major tourist attraction. THE KUISEB RIVER / KUISEB CANYON: The Kuiseb River is one of the most spectacular ephemeral rivers, crossing the Namib Desert on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Its origin is a mere 20 km outside of Windhoek from where the river takes its course westwards through
immensely rugged terrain before it discharges into the ocean just south of the coastal town of Walvis Bay. Wet seasons with abundant rains see the majestic Kuiseb in full flood, sometimes more than once in a single rainy season, thundering its way down to the ocean. Leaving the rugged escarpment the Kuiseb River forms the border between the unyielding Namib dune belt on its southern banks and the rocky
and equally unforgiving desert gravel plains on its northern banks. This contrast creates uniquely spectacular vistas which are almost traumatic in their splendour. The river is also home to the Topnaar people who have lived here for many centuries. The picture was taken from the air, looking in a north easterly direction by Paul van Schalkwyk at 23° 42‘ 45.80“S and 15° 27‘ 38.90“E
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Paul van Schalkwyk ERF 0107.3 Hoaroseb River, Skeleton Coast, 2013 Digital Photography on Fine Art Paper 29.7 x 42 cm Paul van Schalkwyk ERF 0107.4 Dune Lake, Skeleton Coast, 2013 Digital Photography on Fine Art Paper 29.7 x 42 cm
Two skeleton coast images (dune lake & hoaroseb river): The remarkable Skeleton Coast stands out as one of Namibia‘s best known tourist attractions. A mere whispering of the name conjures up romantic images of long forgotten shipwrecks, wide open plains and an intricate mixture of sand and rock strewn beaches creating melodramatic landscapes that are easily imprinted in the visitor’s mind. In the future, this area will face extreme pressure from industrially minded humans.
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Rutendo “Arnold” Mutambirwa ERF 0108 Rastaman Ploughing the Land for Food, 2013 Wire and Beads, 75 x 40 x 45.5 cm
Theme: Land empowerment to the youth in order to feed Namibia Land
My piece talks about the man who was provided with land, oxen and a plough. Rather than job hunting he decided to till the land which may bring food for his family and for him to sell.
State allocates farms to youths for production in all provinces Empowerment of youths Increase in production Feeding of the nation and increase of currency inflows due to exporting of food No more import of food from S.A. Youths leave shebeens and turn to agriculture as a means to life The (relove) total emancipation of Jah people
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Luke Nicholas Koegelenberg  ERF 0110.1  Movement in the City, 2012 Mixed Media, 134 x 158.5 cm Focus is put on the contrast of the stagnant meteorites and the constant movement around them. The rectangular canvas depicts the city with all its buildings and public art in a box, confined by boundaries and obstacles, whereas the people and their movement within the city are depicted by bold colours painted on the canvas and past the canvas to show a rebellion against boundaries. The meteorites are set in the centre of the canvas where the four pedestrian walkways converge. This intersection is now not a meeting place, instead it is the space for meteorites to be placed/exhibited for the public to view. Yet the meteorites encourage no interaction with the pedestrians. Instead, the pedestrian walk past them on their way to work or shopping.
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Luke Nicholas Koegelenberg ERF 0110.2 Stagnant Meteorites, 2012 Digital Photographs (Series of 9 pictures), 30 x 42 cm The city is a place of constant change and movement. People want to move freely and quickly. In Post Street Mall there is a discreet contrast between the stagnant meteorites and the constant movement around them. The meteorite monument is placed in the middle of a pedestrian intersection. This intersection is now not a meeting place, instead it is the space for meteorites to be placed/exhibited for the public to view. Yet the meteorites encourage no interaction with the pedestrians. People don‘t experience them. They are rather an obstruction to pedestrian flow. Here was an opportunity lost to seamlessly mix art with artefacts, culture and human interaction. The artwork, in the form of a rectangular printed canvas, depicts the city
with all its buildings and public art in a ‘box’, confined by boundaries and obstacles. The meteorites are set in the centre of the canvas where the four pedestrian walkways converge. The people of the city, and their movement within it, are depicted by bold colours painted on the canvas. The colours move beyond the edges of the canvas and seems to want to stretch on to infinity. This shows a rebellion against boundaries and defined, impersonal and uncomfortable spaces created in the city by thoughtless development. The city should be an integrated environment where people move freely and easily. Public art should enhance the city and create spaces where people want to be, not where they are forced to be.
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Gisela Marnewecke ERF 0111.1 Kraal Sunset, 2010 Pencil on Fine Art Paper, 48.5 x 52.4 cm Childhood memories and experiences pervaded my thoughts while doing this drawing. It is, for me, a quintessential vision at the heart of Namibian farm life: the soft-trodden kraal, dust rising through rays of slanting late afternoon sun as animals settle down to rest. It was a challenge and pleasure for me to capture the essence of the kraal scene with its unique textures, materials, play of light and, of course, animal interaction.
Gisela Marnewecke ERF 0111.2 Nguni Portrait, 2010 Pencil on Fine Art Paper, 45 x 55cm I am fascinated and inspired by Nguni cattle: their uniquely African beauty, often wild and protective nature and statuesque bearing. As an artist working through the medium of black/ grey/white, these cattle provide unlimited opportunities for challenge and exploration with their spectacular showerings of colour. In this piece, I set out to capture some of the abstract patterning that is possible when using the Nguni as a subject, and as such, this drawing is somewhat of a departure from my usual realist style. Rather, it represents a playful exploration of texture, contrast and composition within their rural Namibian context.
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Gisela Marnewecke ERF 0111.3 Namibian Ngunis, 2010 Pencil on Fine Art Paper, 60 x 98 cm
This drawing was inspired by my love for Namibia as I have known it as a land of wide open spaces, farm animals and wildlife sharing the land together and the silent vastness of the bush.
Embedded in my memory too is the preciousness of the farmer’s cattle, the care he takes to check them and water them, and watch them with pride. This piece speaks of love for the land on horseback
and experiencing its tranquil, earthy resonance first-hand. The rugged patchwork beauty of coming across a herd of Namibian Nguni cattle is expressed here.
Myriam Werra Erf 0112 If Garub was in Berlin-Mitte or The Anonymous Horse, 2013 Photo-Collage in Approved Freight Package, 60 x 15 cm
First of all I love to combine, replace and transfer things that obviously do not belong together. The output is often amusing, puts things in different contexts and adds an absurd sequence to the scene.
Transferring things from their usual surroundings and introducing them to a new neighbourhood creates a different scenery that questions familiar habits and environments. What we take for granted appears
all of a sudden to be very precious in new and unusual surroundings. It offers us the possibility to see things more clearly in a different light.
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Nicky Marais Erf 0113 Hamakari, 2013 Oil on Canvas, 200 x 150 cm
“Hamakari” refers to a guest and hunting farm situated in east-central Namibia, east of the Waterberg Mountains. It also refers to the battle fought on this site in 1904, between the German colonising force in Namibia and the Herero. It is the site where General Von Trotha issued an extermination order against the Herero: “... every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot...” It was also the starting point of “the trail of bones” left by the Herero women, men and children and their cattle who retreated, pursued across the relentless Omaheke desert towards the safety of Bechuanaland. Few survived. On the website advertising the current activities available at Hamakari Guest and Hunting Farm,
now occupied by the fifth generation of a German farming family, reference is made to an ethical hunting experience. No irony is intended when hunters are offered, as well as a wide variety of animals to shoot, traditional hospitality near to the “historic” Waterberg. I decided to paint “Hamakari” as a response to my uncomfortable feelings about land in Namibia, about who should own it, and how. This painting combines a graphic representation of the internal camp boundaries of contemporary Farm Hamakari with the abstract representation of moving troops and warriors on Battlefield Hamakari and the ultimate flight eastwards of a decimated people.
Stephan Eins, Ina Maria Shikongo Erf 0116 One Nation, 2013 Mixed Media, 86 x 86 x 86 cm
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Nature has taken billions of years to create itself. Man has managed to destroy enormous parts of it in several hundred years. We have come from being in tune with the environment to being the rapist in the name of greed. We live within borders called countries and kill our brothers and parents in the name of ownership and greed. The connection between man and earth has become a legend long forgotten as mankind embraces its new consumer culture. Who gave us the right to own land? Is it the sky, the ocean, the elephant, the tree or the gods? A healthy society cannot exist with land ownership.
Barton Zi Shang Ting Erf 0117 Salvation, 2012 Computer Generated Image, 59.4 x 42.0 cm The flaming Jacaranda tree represents scarce nature which is always harmed during land development. The figure riding the scooter represents the possible salvation of nature, riding out into the desolate, barren land or the rainstorm that could protect and nurture this dying tree. The “stolen” number plate hints at the land reform that did not conform to public opinion.
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Jo-Mare Kisting Erf 0119 Untitled, 2012 Digitally Manipulated Print, 30 x 42 cm
Sadia Muteka Erf 0120 Untitled, 2012 Digitally Manipulated Print, 29.5 x 41 cm
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Ronald Kevin Kharuxab Erf 0121 Make Over, 2013 Acrylic on Canvas, 90 x 60 cm
The basic idea of the artwork is to illustrate the way in which land reform takes place. As we know land is a very important source of life because land provides everything which we are dependent on, such as food, fuel, power and many more things, which basically
influences the country’s economy. The artwork (Make Over) shows that the Namibian government purchases farms and allocates them to the landless and previously disadvantaged Namibians to get involved in livestock farming and agriculture.
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Uncertain Territories. Every landscape is located nowhere. ~ Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
Over the past two years, I have taken trips across the country to explore places of historical significance. These landscapes remain relatively unknown to most Namibians, especially in relation to the German-Herero-Nama war and colonial conquest in the early 20th century. Guided by two Ovaherero women, Katuvangua Migal Maendo and Uakondjisa Kakuekuee, I explored places charged with myths and historical narratives. This project was in part motivated by my desire to address my ‘ambivalent’ European/
colonial heritage in this country and to move beyond culturally conditioned prescriptive spaces. What started out as a project in ‘straight’ photography has begun to traverse the realm from the real to the imaginary, exploring the retrieval and dispersal of knowledge and memories. The figures in the landscapes allude to the hybrid/composite nature of identities and the transformation of landscape into personal places that carry contradictory emotions of presence and absence. Many are devoid of any monuments
Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.1 No Monument For The Fallen, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, 120 x 90 cm
or markers but remain ‘landscapes of trauma’, especially in Herero-Nama recollections. The figures act as temporary monuments, and in some cases, as spectres, challenging the silences and the blindnesses that have been cast over this period of history. A percentage of profits from the sale of each image goes to Petrus Hiuii, Katuvangua Migal Maendo, Yakavava Kandiimuine, Uakondjisa Kakuekuee, and Bernades Swartbooi.
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Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.2 More Than A Century, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, 60 x 43 cm Petrus Hiuii, (whose lineage by marriage includes the legendary Chief Mahaherero), is the great-grandfather of Katuvangua Migal Maendo, and was born on 28 December 1909, two years after the German-Herero War. His lifetime spans the century that brought the greatest loss to the Ovaherero – their land and freedom of movement for their cattle. At the age of 104, Petrus Hiuii’s longing remains for land and restitution for his people. (25 February 2012)
Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.3 Family Portrait, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, 90 x 65 cm Yakavava Kandiimuine with his newborn, and his daughters Ngoo Kandiimuine on the left, with the baby girl Maatu, and Wakovandu Kandiimuine on the right, in the red flag dress. Yakavava Kandiimuine keeps the Ovaherero traditions of his community alive. The survival and welbeing of the family depends entirely on their close ties to the land. (August 2012)
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Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.4 Ceremonial Grounds, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper 75 x 55 cm Uakondjisa Kakuekuee was born in Otjimbingwe in 1954. Her mother gave her the name after the sound of a bird that called out when she was born. Kakuekuee looks out to the Ovaherero ceremonial grounds, where the Swakopmund Ovaherero community gather to commemorate the Herero-German War (1904 – 1908). (11 August 2012)
Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.5 Remembering Those Who Built This Line, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper 75 x 55 cm Uakondjisa Kakuekuee at the Swakopmund Railway Station. The first German Military Railway Brigade landed in Swakopmund in 1909. Ovaherero prisoners-of-war, including women and children, were used as labour. Prisoners of war were also deported to the hostile territory of Luderitz in southern Namibia. Many died of exhaustion in the labour camps. (August 2012)
Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.6 Contested Terrain, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper 90.5 x 66 cm Wlotzkasbaken was originally established as a watering post for travellers and traders along the coast, while Namibia was under German rule. Today it is a contested terrain. The white community, who has, since the 1960s, seen this as a remote holiday location, find themselves in conflict with others who look at this territory with different eyes – with a far less romantic link to the past. The figure in Herero dress, is clearly of European heritage, and acts as a haunting reminder of the contradictions underlying this terrain. (14 August 2012)
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Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.7 Voigtsgrund, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, 90 x 70 cm
Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.8 Minimal Shelter, 2012 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, 75 x 55 cm
Bernades Swartbooi with his wife Magdalena Swartbooi, and one month old baby Klaas at the farm Voigtsgrund near Maltahöhe. Voigtsgrund was established in 1906 as a karakul farm. The Swartboois are descendants of a Nama family who have lived and worked on the farm since 1906. Voigtsgrund was sold
A crystal seller’s shelter near the Brandberg gives minimal protection from the intense heat of Damaraland. Small miners of the region eke out an existence from the sale of the semi-precious stones that they mine in the area. (January 2011)
to the government by the Voigts family in 1984, as land for resettlement. The families who still live on the farm, struggle to make a living without capital, specialized farming expertise or training, and secure tenure. And yet, despite their daily struggle, they have a place to call their own. (22 January 2012)
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Nicola Brandt ERF 0122.9 Under an Omwandi Tree, 2013 Digital Photograph on Photographic Paper, Clay Pots, Sand, 300 x 300 cm
‘Under an Omwandi Tree’ (After John Liebenberg’s photograph ‘The grave site at Uupindi photographed a few weeks after the burial of SWAPO guerrillas, with shallow graves in the background and an omwandi tree. April 1989’), 25 January, 2013.
‘Under An Omwandi Tree’: The Unspoken Inheritance of the Bush War The idea of how things exist through their absence, interests me. In Under an Omwandi Tree: The Unspoken Inheritance of the Bush War, I have adopted an approach that is both poetic and conceptual. I have taken everyday objects of clay pots from Owambo and placed them upside down in soil, surrounded by broken fragments. The dry earth, in which the pots are embedded, is from a site of mass graves in Northern Namibia. On the wall, alongside the empty vessels, hangs an image of John Liebenberg and Patricia Hayes’s book Bush of Ghosts (2010). The book is open on the last page. It shows a photograph of a landscape taken by Liebenberg at the end the Bush War between South African Defence Forces and SWAPO. The abbreviated caption underneath the image states the following: “The grave site at Uupindi photographed a few weeks after the burial of SWAPO guerrillas, with shallow graves in the background and an omwandi tree. April 1989.”1
It can be said that ‘wars never end’ – the repercussions have consequences that cast a spectre on places and successive generations. The installation, and Liebenberg’s image of a seemingly empty landscape, alludes to the issue at the core of the Border War – the secrecy and deception that enveloped this period of Namibian history and the highly contested and unresolved traumas around the ‘nameless’ dead 2. Liebenberg and Hayes worked through the negatives of thousands of black and white images taken during the war, in an attempt to record events and evidence that have become submerged in the landslide of larger histories. The image of the gravesite at Uupindi is one of the earlier examples of ‘aftermath’ landscapes in South Africa’s resistance photography. Like in so many wars, where countless died or were displaced, the piece reminds viewers of events that, for the most
part, have not been fully internalized or grasped by those who were not directly involved, and even by those who were present. The installation alludes to this ‘lack of knowing’. When supposedly familiar objects are denied their original meaning or context, new associations arise. On closer inspection of the work, the viewer is reminded of the darker history
of Namibia, and that land and landscapes are inevitably burdened with unresolved subject matter and questions of ownership.
1
2
John Liebenberg and Patricia Hayes, Bush of Ghosts: Life and War in Namibia, 1986 - 90, Umuzi, Cape Town, p. 240 Ibid., p. 15
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Emmencey Nukuale ERF 0123 Untitled, 2012 Black and White Photograph, 29.7 x 42 cm
David Ndjavera ERF 0124 Whose Eggs Are These? 2012 Plaster of Paris and Wire, 120 x 84 x 90 cm The metaphorical interpretation of the artwork is that eggs are a representation of the source of life, fertility and growth. To develop our land we have to take into consideration the fragility of the land and we, as inhabitants, have a responsibility to protect and guard it from harm and intrusion. Thus the barbed wire is representational of the maximum protection that we need to exercise to ensure that the land is equally distributed. The nest is the natural home for eggs. When one barricades or cages an object, you fortify it. But in the artwork, the nest is open. This symbolises the accessibility and at the same time, protection from harm and vandalism. The three eggs symbolise the three states of the process. One object represents presents, two represents having something, and three represents abundance. Our land is vast and has enough to offer to all its citizens. All we need to do is take care of it, for we will have nothing if we lose it.
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Dimitri Marvin Karon ERF 0125 The Darn Imperialist, 2012 Digitally Manipulated Print, 29.7 x 42 cm This artwork portrays the current land issue in our country, where foreigners are allowed to buy land for cheaper prices because they promise to employ the locals on the land. This doesn’t happen in most cases because the locals are sometimes forced from their land and are relocated to resettlement farms which are less fertile, in order to make way for the foreigners. The locals allow the mistreatment for they fear losing everything if they speak up! The poor locals accept the situation as normal because the system clutters their mind-sets. But ultimately, their hearts and spirits know that this is wrong. The system was created to make the poor poorer, and the rich richer. That’s why revolutions are becoming second nature across the globe.
Jaimee-Lee Eugene Diergaardt ERF 0126 Contour, 2012 Hardboard, Reed, 180 x 50 cm I chose to represent myself through my artwork entitled “contour”. I am of mixed race, made up of different Namibian tribes; therefore I am called “coloured” in Namibia. Being such a mixture, I feel that in some way I represent a true young Namibian. Through my use of colour, I seek to represent the majority of Namibians who are of mixed race. Each colour in my artwork symbolises a different cultural group known to Namibia. Seen all together, these colours complement each other to form a contour layout of a Namibian woman, true to her Namibian heritage and proud of her diverse background. This artwork makes a statement about the “coloured people” of mixed race, and serves as a reminder that they too form part of this land that we call home.
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Isack Mvula Kapembe ERF 0127 Outside the Etosha Fence, 2012 Digital Photograph, 59.4 x 42.0 cm
Cattle owners in the farm take their cattle each year to what they call “Ohambo”. Ohambo is a cattle post, where cattle are herded for grazing purposes as there is a lack of grazing land/space at home. Areas around the
north of Etosha are abundant with grazing land. The fact that cattle owners move their herds seasonally could mean that there is not enough land for grazing and that in itself is a land matter.
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Philip Lühl ERF 0129 Legacies of a Colonial Town, 2012 Installation, 960 x 720 x 240 cm
Concept and Curating Phillip Lühl Team Tomoko Kono Guillermo Delgado Stephan Eins Frieda Lühl
Legacies of a colonial town The installation “Legacies of a colonial town” tries to, as the title suggests, expose some of the lasting legacies, especially the social and spatial ones of our colonial history, mainly from the view point of towns and cities. We have to acknowledge that land reform cannot just be about farms and rural areas but that land is an incredibly contentious issue in the urban areas as well, where by now 40% of the population lives (or tries to make a living). Secondly, the concept of space, which includes land, is not “God-given”. It is produced through human negotiations and is thus always a political
issue. The installation traces some aspects of the historical production of space in Namibia, so that by acknowledging our human agency in this production, we can start imagining and living alternative worlds. Ultimately, the Apartheid Administration understood full well the importance of space (and the division thereof) to further its “Utopia” of a segregated existence. We have to face the fact that there is a need to stage an equally radical and holistic counter-project if we want to overcome some of those legacies. Art can be one of the languages to achieve this.
Texts Thomas Fox Phillip Lühl Guillermo Delgado Text Editing Amy Schoeman Acknowledgements Paul Kiddo John Liebenberg Philip McCormack Nicola Brandt Institutions Directorate of Arts, Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture British Council (London) British Council (Namibia) National Archives of Namibia Katutura Community Arts Centre City of Windhoek Namibia Institute of Architects Heinrich-Barth-Institute, Germany National Art Gallery of Namibia Arts Association Heritage Trust John Muafangejo Trust
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DESERT LANDSCAPE Or the myth of virgin land The first Europeans to explore the territory known today as Namibia journeyed from the Cape Colony in South Africa around the late 1700s. They reported that the country was essentially ‘unoccupied’. It lacked what outsiders would define as ‘society’, and had no formal, dense places of settlement with buildings or structures that might be termed architectural. They assumed that the people they encountered lived as scatterings of humanity across the arid land. Prehistoric rock paintings such as those found at the Brandberg reveal that both society and structures for community life existed for several thousand years. The rock art represents three major characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies: kinship, equality and movement, while the rock-art sites reveal a deeply rooted understanding of the land and its seasonal transformations. More recent history saw the development of pastoralist and nomadic economies, where humans moved in symmetry with weather patterns, dictated by rain and the dry seasons. Fundamentally, the search for food and the survival of their livestock were paramount. In the north-eastern parts of the country farming
societies arriving around 1500 AD manifested themselves in more complex architectural formations of clan-based homesteads. These spaces reveal an organic interrelation of spaces for living, social interaction, livestock farming, grain storage, water extraction and agriculture. Namibia was formally colonised in the 1880s following the scramble and carving up of Africa by the European powers after the Berlin Conference of 1884-5. Known as South West Africa, the territory became a German Protectorate (1884–1915), and later a British-South African Mandate Territory (1921–1990). The myth of virgin land becomes palpable in the early settler art of the 20th century, impressively depicting the seemingly untouched landscapes, and eclipsing the temporality of seasonal use of the territory by indigenous peoples. It is this myth that is continuously reconstructed to feed much of the contemporary tourist experience. Paradoxically, while searching for places devoid of human habitation, the architecture of tourism is constructed largely as a pastiche of the ‘traditional’ by providing affluent foreign tourists with all the expected modern comforts when realising their ‘African Experience’.
A series of public debates were organised to raise the discussion about how those alternative worlds could be shaped, and by whom. The question of art as a vehicle for such change was highlighted, as well as the constraints of conventional town planning and urban practices, including architecture, in bringing about change. In the last of these meetings a citizen-based approach sought ways for inhabitants to effectively claim their “right to the city”.
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BABYLON KATUTURA Or the production of inequality Colonialism did much to mark out and shape patterns of inequality, thereby contributing, with some qualification, towards shaping the current social disparities. The institution of private property was firmly established in favour of the German or South African settler farmers. As the land was parcelled up, the pressure on nomadic groups grew unbearable. This is the major, albeit not the only, reason for the Herero-Nama uprising of 1904–7, culminating in what is considered the first genocide of the 20th century. Colonial architecture fundamentally represents structures of power and domination, such as the Alte Feste (old military fort) built in Windhoek overlooking the concentration camps built for the survivors of the uprising. Another of these is the Tintenpalast (ink palace), the administrative centre of the German colony, and today Namibia’s Parliament Building. Ironically this building expresses the core supremacy and identity of colonial rule. While architecture does not necessarily create ‘difference’, it may overtly be its carrier, representational symbol, even its catalyst and mediator.
The design of Namibia’s towns and cities does much to reinforce the entrenched inequalities present in Namibian society today. In fact, it becomes instrumental in fixing these inequalities in space and time. It is therefore in the urban structures that racial segregation has its most lasting legacy. It was only a small step from concentration camps to the racial management of separate ‘native locations’ (townships) built on the periphery of the towns to accommodate black and coloured people. There is a striking contrast in the way the white areas in the city lacked the rigid modernist grid system imposed on the ‘Old Location’ in the 1930s. Such patterns of control were considered unnecessary for white residents. Despite this, everyday life for the working classes unfolded in ways that caused new forms of cultural production and inter-cultural relations to crystallise. Under the South African mandate for administering South West Africa, the apartheid system of ‘separate existence’ was loosely but effectively implemented in South West Africa. In the ongoing social ‘cleansing’ of Windhoek into black, white and coloured areas of residence, the local colonial administration designated the Old Location to
become Hochland Park – a white residential suburb – in the 1960s and established the thenperipheral areas of Katutura and Khomasdal as black and coloured dormitory ‘townships’. The forceful relocation of Old Location residents to these new townships moved thousands away from what was considered the white town. Such areas were, further separated from the ‘white’ areas by large green spaces and industrial areas serving as buffer zones. While these buffer zones have been partly filled, to date there has not been the political will to subvert the colonial legacy of the City of Windhoek. Today the inequalities and attitudes of the past continue and intensify in the living patterns of Windhoek inhabitants. The expansion of what is widely termed informal settlements is sustained by rural-urban migration. These ‘reception areas’ are located in the north and west of the city, far away from employment opportunities, urban facilities and services, exacerbating the marginalisation of the still largely black urban poor.
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MEN ARE WORKING IN TOWN Or the socio-spatial production of migrant labour Indigenous social and cultural reproduction was deeply transformed, as the traditional economies based on nomadic livestock management and subsistence agriculture were marginalised to give way to the encroachment of large-scale private settler farms. At the same time, the demand for cheap labour was asserted on the farms and in primary industries such as mining and fishing. Indigenous Namibians underwent a process of ‘proletarianisation’, displacing able-bodied males from the older economies and turning them into migrant workers. The new ‘working class’ labourers were forced to travel far from their homes without their families for lengthy periods of time, on ‘contracts’ of up to two years. This ‘Contract Labour System’ had severe effects on society and family life, both in urban agglomerations and in rural areas, where women were left to sustain the traditional economies and livelihoods. This is unequivocally depicted in the linocuts of the acclaimed Namibian artist, John Muafangejo. Once again, architecture became instrumental in the reproduction of this repressive system. The so-called Ovambo Hostel was built in Katutura in the 1970s. It was named after the majority ethnic population group from northern Namibia, and was
designed to cheaply and effectively maintain and control about 15 000 migrant labourers working in urban industries. The building was starkly functional, and had only basic amenities and comforts. As no families were allowed to stay with workers, this meant that domesticity and life in general took place in a males-only environment. This and the repressive labour conditions served as an incubator of growing dissent against the system and colonial white-dominated rule. Paradoxically, bringing men into such close proximity with one another set the conditions for sharing and increasing discontent, inducing them to engage in political protest and organisation. Throughout the 1970s, several strikes effectively weakened the contract labour system and fuelled the nationalist movement. This, in turn, led the colonial authorities to demolish the largest part of the hostel in the late 1980s, as if by removing the structure, future opposition would be abolished. The surviving building – where kitchens and spaces for socialising had formerly been housed – was transformed into a centre for arts, crafts and music. Today’s Katutura Community Arts Centre (KCAC) represents a positive and creative transformation of a place that in former years excluded all forms of self-realization.
Today, Namibia’s economy is highly polarised. It supports a thriving free-market economy dominated by service and primary resource-extraction industries. However, it has a limited manufacturing industry, with the country relying heavily on imports from South Africa. This is evident in the architecture of the cities and towns, showcased with office buildings for finance, insurance and tourism. The overtly modernist designs reveal the affluence, success and confidence of these sectors. The other reality is that half of Namibia’s working-age population remains unemployed and subsists on informal economic activities. Here, many of the patterns of labour migration remain, sustaining an active exchange between the rural areas and urban centres.
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HISTORY UNBOLTED Or the return of monumentality Monuments are symbols or signs of past and present national aspirations rooted in historical events. At the same time they are reference points or markers that construct and display specific national identities. Political and national forces manufacture, in a conservative way, the discourses of monumentality. Views of Windhoek reveal architectural layers of the present set-up over the strata of the past. As a postcolonial society, controlled first by Imperial Germany and then by South Africa, the contemporary buildings of independent Namibia stand in uneasy symbiosis with the structures of a difficult and, for some, a traumatic era. The Reiterdenkmal, seen here during its recent relocation to make room for the new Independence Memorial Museum, represents an earlier colonial manifestation of nationhood. Also known as the Equestrian Memorial, this double-sized statue of a
German Schutztruppe cavalryman in full uniform was erected to express the military and colonial ‘superiority’ of German colonial rule. In contrast, Heroes’ Acre on the southern outskirts of Windhoek symbolises Namibia’s indigenous and successful resistance to colonialism. Inaugurated in 2003, it embodies contemporary political goals around sentiments for nation building legitimised by past collective struggles. This example is crisscrossed with symbolic compromise in its imported identity. By design and structure, Heroes’ Acre is the product of external monumentality, namely that of North Korea. The statues of the ‘unknown soldier’ and others bear a strikingly similar template to military monuments found across Africa and North Korea. Yet, in ambition and sentiment, it shares a nationalist and martial sentiment similar to that of the German Reiterdenkmal monument erected in the previous
century. Two other buildings serving a similar historical and national function are the new State House and the yet-to-be-opened Independence Memorial Museum. In them, the modern state seeks to redefine an image of itself in terms of grandeur and assertiveness through an imported monumentality. This is a paradoxical choice for a young country with a national identity still in the process of consolidation.
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Lok Kandjengo ERF 0130 Ghettos in Deep Katutura, 2011 Linoprint, 11.5 x 7.8 cm
Justus Natangwe Shaanika ERF 0131 Proud of My Land, 2012 Ink on Paper, 18.2 x 45.5 cm
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Frieda Lühl ERF 0132 Em-bracelet, 2013 Wood, Iron, Thread, Steel Nails, 120 x 30 cm Land matters is a very relevant subject in Namibia and indeed also in many southern African countries. I thought it is a fantastic idea to call on the artists to interpret this subject and was very excited to submit work for this project. I believe that all parties involved in the land reform, be it the established farmers or the upcoming farmers, have very fixed, but to a great extent, opposing views on Land Matters. There is much to speak about, much to discuss and learn on all sides. My piece deals with the matter of land reform. I have no suggestions of how it should be done but I would like to call on all involved to approach this matter of LAND REFORM with patience, wisdom, tolerance and a lot of open discussion. The bracelet I made – EMBRACELET – is made from iron like
the cuffs slaves used to wear. For the different groups involved the subject of land reform appears to be a constraint and it often might appear as if there is no solution in sight. The iron plates resemble farms (they even have fictional farm numbers stamped onto them). These iron plates are knotted together with the red thread of destiny. What I want to suggest with the choice of material and the symbols is that although the bracelet seems to be stiff and constraining because of its iron plates it can become loose when you open the knots. It will take a lot of wisdom, tolerance and patience to find sustainable solutions that work for all or the majority. I herewith call upon all people involved in land reform to unknot these threads together.
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Ramon Leyendecker ERF 0133.1 Zooming in on Colours of the Land, 2013 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 120 x 75 cm
The canvas shows 6 rows of 8 colours each. Each small picture is a maximum zoomed-in photo. With the zooming-in, the emphasis is on the colour, and not the shape of the motive:
the photographed motive is distilled and the colour is extracted as essence. Each of the motives of the 6 rows has a theme: (i) The sky above the land; (ii) Mountains; (iii)
Trees standing in the land, (iv) Rocks; (v) Sand covering the land; (vi) Feet walking the land. The extracted colours show the beauty, diversity and unity of land.
Ramon Leyendecker ERF 0133.2 Small Mindscape, 2012 Acrylic on Wood, 30 x 30 cm Since I came to Southern Africa in 1990, sitting or simply being on Southern African land has freed my mind. I started to paint landscapes but found out that this is not what I had wanted to paint. I did not want to depict the landscape, but the feeling when being in it. So I worked on the first landscapes and over-painted the canvasses; a first series of “Memories of African landscapes” developed around 1996. Later on, even this title did not match with my intentions and it became clear that I wanted to paint the state of mind when being in African land. A second series of 100 x 80 canvasses developed, called “Mindscapes”. In recent years, a third series of “mindscapes” 160 x 120 cm developed the idea even further. The painting here is a mindscape painted on a different medium and on different measurements.
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Ramon Leyendecker ERF 0133.3 That River Flows (Songline Peter Gabriel), 2012 Acrylic on Wood, 30 x 60 cm
Christine Eva Maria Skowski ERF 0134.1 The Land is Us – Farmer, 2012 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 60 x 50 cm
The shape of land and the vegetation are strongly defined by rivers. Shape, vegetation and river are important for the beings on the land (animals, humans). Rivers are also metaphers for the flow of
time, or the flow of human life. Flowing rivers are also metaphers for attitudes towards life: go with the flow; swimming against the stream.
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Christine Eva Maria Skowski ERF 0134.2 The Land is Us – Herdsman, 2012 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 60 x 50 cm
Christine Eva Maria Skowski ERF 0134.3 The Land is Us – Young Herdboy, 2012 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 60 x 50 cm
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Christine Eva Maria Skowski ERF 0134.4 The Land is Us – Kraal, 2012 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 60 x 50 cm
Christine Eva Maria Skowski ERF 0134.5 The Land is Us – Milkbucket, 2012 Digital Photograph Print on Canvas, 60 x 50 cm
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Alpheus Mvula  ERF 0136  Whose Land is it? 2013 Installation, 700 x 100 x 85 cm
The works depicting land reform and land occupied with fences all over, can be seen on boxes. Inside the box are different parts of land where people live, so some people live on stone, or mountain, and some live on land with flat areas, but the benefits are the same or different. Cattle are symbolic of human beings living on land with different work. The whole land is marked with fences and is protected. The cattle face in one direction to symbolise one purpose of using land. The cattle are Nguni which can live in harsh conditions because they eat everything and survive.
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Š Karin le Roux, OMBA Trust, www.omba.org.na
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I do not know any stories as my father died while I was in my mother’s womb and my mother too passed away while I was very small. I hunt small birds and am a good hunter. Josia Naulongo
Lena Tsueb ERF 0138.1 Wild Fruit Tree with Snakes, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
Paulina Britz ERF 0138.2 Peppers from the Community Garden, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
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I am thankful that we can meet like this and share old time stories, we used to hunt and live off veld food but now we must draw and sell paintings to survive. Johannes adds: My father used to track animals using their spoor. Katrina Kaus
Maria Kasube ERF 0138.3 Flowers and Snake, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
Betty Britz ERF 0138.4 Wild Medicine, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
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Betty Britz ERF 0138.5 Wild Medicine, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
I do not know anything about the old tradition but I know a little about veld food. My grandmother told me about it. I enjoyed learning about our culture in this workshop. Martha Kavandunge
Martha Kavantjindje ERF 0138.6 Tree with Pods, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
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Sofia Abusema ERF 0138.7 Veld Kos, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
Magdalena Gooieman ERF 0138.8 Chameleon and Veld Foods, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
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Martha Kavantjindje ERF 0138.9 Wild Medicine, 2012 Beadwork on Fabric, 40 x 40 cm
I do not know everything but my parents were in the field and I saw my father wearing animal skin, bow and arrow and go hunting wild animals. I saw my mother taking her bags and go to collect veld food. Nowadays you are put in jail if you go hunting. Liza Boepens
Long time ago the Ju/hoansi did not suffer but today if you do not have grade 12 then you suffer. My culture is getting lost because today when you go and hunt you will go to jail and it is very difficult for us. Johannes Fritz – Donkerbos
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Immanuel Kanghono ERF 0139.1 Ostrich, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15.5 x 15 cm
Filiemon Sakaria ERF 0139.2 Lions in Etosha, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15.5 x 15 cm
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Fillipus Shikumba ERF 0139.3 Guineafowl in Tree, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15 x 15 cm
Immanuel Kanghono ERF 0139.4 Porcupines at Night, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15 x 15 cm
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Hendelina Hamukanda ERF 0139.5 Porcupine at Night, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15 x 15.5cm
Abraham Hamunyela ERF 0139.6 Zebra and Jackal, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 15 x 20 cm
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Immanuel Nakale  ERF 0140.1  Animals Around a Snake, 2012 Linoprint on paper, 29.5 x 30 cm
My grandparents used to tell me stories about how things were in the old days. In our tradition we did not eat what we eat now, we only ate veld food. We used to make a big fire in the bush and cooked the veld food we collected there. We collected food like wild potatoes. Now we do not go and find veld food anywhere; we only stay at home but I will eat if someone else collects and gives to me. Klein Katrina Kxao, Donkerbos
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Ester (Andreas) Xaue ERF 0140.2 Makalani Palm, 2012 Water Color Painting on Paper, 50 x 31 cm
Many many many years back as a child I used to go to the bush, my father would hunt and my mother would collect veld food. When we came here Okongo was a small place, not as big as it is now. I used to eat meat but after Independence the government moved us and gave us big houses and food to eat. In Ekoka we fight with our neighbours when we share food or have any other problem. Hendrina Hamupolo, Ekoka
Hilia (Haushona) N!awe ERF 0140.3 Veld Food, 2012 Water Color Painting on Paper, 32 x 25 cm
97
Josephina (Naufilia) Xatu  ERF 0140.4  Traditional Beans, 2012 Water Color Painting on Paper, 41 x 34 cm
Before Independence my father used to hunt kudu and after killing it came back and told the rest to go with him to collect it. He would then give to this house and that house. My father did not drink tombo, he only drank water but not from the tap only from the trees and waterholes. Thomas Hamauta, Oshanasheeva
98
At first we could eat animal meat but now Nature Conservation will put you in jail. Now I am afraid to go into the bush. Even to find a job you need Grade 10 or 12. If you go home you suffer and now in Namibia if you do not have money you will not eat. Many men have taught their children to hunt small birds and small animals but now we are not allowed to hunt. Abraham Hamunyela, Ekoka
Fillipus Shikumba  ERF 0140.5  Flying Ants after the Rain, 2012 Water Color Painting on Paper, 63 x 49 cm
99
Berta Kristof ERF 0141.1 Gathered Plants Series “Si“, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 30 x 19 cm
100
Abraham Hamunyela ERF 0141.2 Elephants, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 19 x 30 cm
101
Katrina Magot ERF 0141.3 Gathered Plants Series “Uintjies”, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 30 x 19 cm
Elsie Dam ERF 0141.4 Gathered Plants Series “Hu-uru”, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 30 x 19 cm
102
Immanuel Nakale ERF 0141.5 Cheetah and Rabbit, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 29.5 x 30 cm
103
Sannie Magot ERF 0141.6 Wild Maramba Beans, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 30 x 19 cm
Lisa Boepens ERF 0141.7 Gathered Plants Series “Koffie Boom”, 2012 Linoprint on Paper, 30 x 19 cm
104
Joseph Somseb ERF 0142 Land Matters, 2013 Digital Graphic Print, 29.7 x 42 cm 1. Emergency lights: To alert land matters and land reform through art. 2. Sun and Sky: To start with brighter hopes and vision on land matters and land reform. 3. Ground, Stones, trees and bush must be cleared to bring more open space to the people to make it our land, our heritage, our pride, in building houses, agricultural project, business and resettlement so we all can benefit from it. 4. Bulldozer: is representing government on clearing land and only government has that authority.
5. House chain by Bulldozer (Government) simply means to build affordable houses for every citizen after clearing the land, bring in new agricultural projects, business and education to empower living condition of the people. 6. Planted Flower means to start with new beginning, after clearing the land to be use, plant new trees, bringing water to villages, clean purified water to rural areas and reduce water price to affordable means for every citizen.
Let’s start creating more open space through land clearing on unused land to make it useful to all citizens instead of bulldozing down peoples shacks and houses where they are in search of better shelter to lay their heads down peacefully. Then we can say freely‚ ‘our land, our heritage, our pride’. After that we can all stand together as one nation on land matters and land reform issues to bring in new changes and a better future.
105
UNAM Students, 2nd Year Textiles Group ERF 0152 Deconstructed Patchwork “Land Matters”, 2012 Textile Patchwork (15 pieces), 120 x 70 cm
Detail of the artwork: Stephan Eins, Ina Maria Shikongo Erf 0116 One Nation, 2013 Page 63
107
Index of Artists / Artworks ERF 0032
Hanne Marott-Alpers, Is Our Water Safe In Your Hands?
12
ERF 0033
Rika Nel, Upside-down-world
14
ERF 0034
Kay Cowley, Desert Rain
16
ERF 0035
Siegfried Straube, Dune 45 Bottom to Crest
17
ERF 0038.1
Trudi Dicks, Dolosse (1)
18
ERF 0038.2
Trudi Dicks, Dolosse (2)
18
ERF 0038.3
Trudi Dicks, Assemblage
18
ERF 0039.1
Barbara Pirron, Land Matters – Burning Issues
19
ERF 0039.2
Barbara Pirron, Tokoloshe – Foreboding
20
ERF 0042.1 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, A Struggle for Man and Animal, Maltahöhe District
21
ERF 0042.2 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, Mupewa’s Front Yard, DRC, Swakopmund
21
ERF 0042.3 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, A Frail Start on an Illegal Erf, DRC, Swakopmund
22
ERF 0042.4 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, A Burnt Mountain, An Arid Land, A Hopeful Family
22
ERF 0042.5 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, No Security of Tenure, DRC, Swakopmund
23
ERF 0042.6 Margaret Courtney-Clarke, No Construction Behind the Boundaryline, DRC, Swakopmund
23
ERF 0043
Onesmus Joseph, Momandoloma
24
ERF 0044
David Megameno Amukoto, Kume Palm Tree
24
ERF 0045.1
John Sampson, No Toxic Dumping (in Namibia)
25
ERF 0045.2
John Sampson, No Arable Land!
26
ERF 0045.3
John Sampson, Disconnected
26
ERF 0045.4
John Sampson, Mining in the Central Namib
27
ERF 0046.1
Maria Mbereshu, Village Life
27
ERF 0046.2
Maria Mbereshu, African Beauty
28
ERF 0047
Simeon Shilongo, Urbanisation
28
ERF 0049.1
Sageus “Ziggy“ Marthin, Afrikan Live!
29
ERF 0049.2
Sageus “Ziggy“ Marthin, One Namibia, One Nation
29
ERF 0055
Paul Kiddo, Okahandja Park
30
ERF 0058
Ujama Kahungi, Distribution of Land
30
ERF 0062.1
Johannes Ndilipune Nampala, Land is a Mother
31
ERF 0062.2
Johannes Ndilipune Nampala, Land Mark
31
ERF 0064
Penda Haikali, Africa Hold Their Land
32
ERF 0066
Lukas Kaunambi Amakali, Celebrating Land Matters (2, 3, 5)
32
ERF 0067.1
Tafadzwa Mitchell Gatsi, The Long Way
34
ERF 0067.2
Tafadzwa Mitchell Gatsi, Kambashu Art
34
ERF 0070.1
Trianus Laameka Komwene Nakale, Wetlands
35
ERF 0070.2
Trianus Laameka Komwene Nakale, Precious Source
35
ERF 0072
Ismael Aludhilu Shivute, They Became Enemies
36
ERF 0073.1
Marina Indongo, Stop Burning Bushes (1)
37
ERF 0073.2 Marina Indongo, Stop Burning Bushes (2)
37
ERF 0075.1
Cathy McRoberts, Not Complicated
38
ERF 0075.2
Cathy McRoberts, 324.558
38
ERF 0076.1
Fillipus Sheehama, Savanna-Land
39
ERF 0076.2
Fillipus Sheehama, Celebration
40
ERF 0076.3
Fillipus Sheehama, Mapping
40
ERF 0077.1
Actofel Ilovu, Land Master
41
ERF 0077.2
Actofel Ilovu, Remove 1, 2, 3
41
ERF 0078
Urte-Roswita Remmert, Light on a Thorny Issue
42
ERF 0079.1
Frans Nambinga, Littering Land
43
108
Index of Artists / Artworks ERF 0079.2
Frans Nambinga, Vandaliser
43
ERF 0080
Bernardus !Nuxab (Nugab), In the National Art Gallery
44
ERF 0081
Kalapufye Nghiidileko, Kaxuxwena Hadela Nyoko
44
ERF 0085
Gina Figueira/Helen Harris, Their Boundaries, Our Borders
45
ERF 0087
Tity Kalala Tshilumba, Right of Shelter
46
ERF 0088
Rowan Roscoe McNamara, Sunset
46
ERF 0090
Elia Shiwoohamba, The Traditional House of Namibia
47
ERF 0091
Papa Shikongeni, Waiting to Receive
47
ERF 0092
Chris Snyman, Ocean of Ironies (Black Canvas Series)
48
ERF 0094.1
Moses Haipinge, My Time
49
ERF 0094.2
Moses Haipinge, Homestead
49
ERF 0096
Helena Linda Esbach, Five Minutes to Midnight
50
ERF 0098
Jazine Audrick Chris Fischer, After the Storm is Gone
51
ERF 0103.1
Kaleb Haipinge, Land on Auction for Two Million
51
ERF 0103.2
Kaleb Haipinge, The Land Known as Housing and Property
52
ERF 0104
Fillow Ilenikuye Nghipandulwa, Equal Land for All
52
ERF 0105
Robert Max Metumo Hidishange, Diversity and Unity
53
ERF 0106.1
Kirsten Wechslberger, Capitalist Boundaries 1
54
ERF 0106.2
Kirsten Wechslberger, Capitalist Boundaries 2
54
ERF 0107.1
Paul van Schalkwyk, Damaraland, Namibia
55
ERF 0107.2
Paul van Schalkwyk, Kuiseb Canyon, Namib Desert
55
ERF 0107.3
Paul van Schalkwyk, Hoaroseb River, Skeleton Coast
56
ERF 0107.4
Paul van Schalkwyk, Dune Lake, Skeleton Coast
56
ERF 0108
Rutendo “Arnold� Mutambirwa, Rastaman Ploughing the Land for Food
57
ERF 0110.1
Luke Nicholas Koegelenberg, Movement in the City
58
ERF 0110.2
Luke Nicholas Koegelenberg, Stagnant Meteorites (9)
59
ERF 0111.1
Gisela Marnewecke, Kraal Sunset
60
ERF 0111.2
Gisela Marnewecke, Nguni Portrait
60
ERF 0111.3
Gisela Marnewecke, Namibian Ngunis
61
ERF 0112
Myriam Werra, If Garub was in Berlin-Mitte or The Anonymous Horse
61
ERF 0113
Nicky Marais, Hamakari
62
ERF 0116
Stephan Eins, Ina Maria Shikongo, One Nation
63
ERF 0117
Barton Zi Shang Ting, Salvation
63
ERF 0119
Jo-Mare Kisting, Untitled
64
ERF 0120
Sadia Muteka, Untitled
64
ERF 0121
Ronald Kevin Kharuxab, Make Over
65
ERF 0122.1
Nicola Brandt, No Monument For The Fallen
66
ERF 0122.2
Nicola Brandt, More Than A Century
67
ERF 0122.3
Nicola Brandt, Family Portrait
67
ERF 0122.4
Nicola Brandt, Ceremonial Grounds
68
ERF 0122.5
Nicola Brandt, Remembering Those Who Built This Line
68
ERF 0122.6
Nicola Brandt, Contested Terrain
68
ERF 0122.7
Nicola Brandt, Voigtsgrund
69
ERF 0122.8
Nicola Brandt, Minimal Shelter
69
ERF 0122.9
Nicola Brandt, Under an Omwandi Tree
70
ERF 0123
Emmencey Nukuale, Untitled
71
ERF 0124
David Ndjavera, Whose Eggs Are These?
71
109
Index of Artists / Artworks ERF 0125
Dimitri Marvin Karon, The Darn Imperialist
72
ERF 0126
Jaimee-Lee Eugene Diergaardt, Contour
72
ERF 0127
Isack Mvula Kapembe, Outside the Etosha Fence
73
ERF 0129
Phillip Lühl, Legacies of a Colonial Town
74
ERF 0130
Lok Kandjengo, Ghettos in Deep Katutura
79
ERF 0131
Justus Natangwe Shaanika, Proud of My Land
79
ERF 0132
Frieda Lühl, Em-bracelet
80
ERF 0133.1
Ramon Leyendecker, Zooming in on Colours of the Land
81
ERF 0133.2
Ramon Leyendecker, Small Mindscape
81
ERF 0133.3
Ramon Leyendecker, That River Flows (Songline Peter Gabriel)
82
ERF 0134.1
Christine Eva Maria Skowski, The Land is Us – Farmer
82
ERF 0134.2
Christine Eva Maria Skowski, The Land is Us – Herdsman
83
ERF 0134.3
Christine Eva Maria Skowski, The Land is Us – Young Herdboy
83
ERF 0134.4
Christine Eva Maria Skowski, The Land is Us – Kraal
84
ERF 0134.5
Christine Eva Maria Skowski, The Land is Us – Milkbucket
84
ERF 0136
Alpheus Mvula, Whose Land is it?
85
ERF 0138.1
Lena Tsueb, Wild Fruit Tree with Snakes
87
ERF 0138.2
Paulina Britz, Peppers from the Community Garden
87
ERF 0138.3
Maria Kasube, Flowers and Snake
88
ERF 0138.4
Betty Britz, Wild Medicine
88
ERF 0138.5
Betty Britz, Wild Medicine
89
ERF 0138.6
Martha Kavantjindje, Tree with Pods
89
ERF 0138.7
Sofia Abusema, Veld Kos
90
ERF 0138.8
Magdalena Gooieman, Chameleon and Veld Foods
90
ERF 0138.9
Martha Kavantjindje, Wild Medicine
91
ERF 0139.1
Immanuel Kanghono, Ostrich
92
ERF 0139.2
Filiemon Sakaria, Lions in Etosha
92
ERF 0139.3
Fillipus Shikumba, Guineafowl in Tree
93
ERF 0139.4
Immanuel Kanghono, Porcupines at Night
93
ERF 0139.5
Hendelina Hamukanda, Porcupine at Night
94
ERF 0139.6
Abraham Hamunyela, Zebra and Jackal
94
ERF 0140.1
Immanue Nakale, Animals Around a Snake
95
ERF 0140.2
Ester (Andreas) Xaue, Makalani Palm
96
ERF 0140.3
Hilia (Haushona) N!awe, Veld Food
96
ERF 0140.4
Josephina (Naufilia) Xatu, Traditional Beans
97
ERF 0140.5 Filipus Shikumba, Flying Ants after the Rain
98
ERF 0141.1
Berta Kristof, Gathered Plants Series “Si”
99
ERF 0141.2
Abraham Hamunyela, Elephants
100
ERF 0141.3
Katrina Magot, Gathered Plants Series “Uintjies”
101
ERF 0141.4
Elsie Dam, Gathered Plants Series “Hu-uru”
101
ERF 0141.5
Immanuel Nakale, Cheetah and Rabbit
102
ERF 0141.6
Sannie Magot, Wild Maramba Beans
103
ERF 0141.7
Lisa Boepens, Gathered Plants Series “Koffie Boom”
103
ERF 0142
Joseph Somseb, Land Matters
104
ERF 0152
UNAM Students, 2nd Year Textiles Group, Deconstructed Patchwork “Land Matters”
105
110
111
Partners & Sponsors
Project Patron Alpheus G. !Naruseb, Minister of Lands and Resettlement Ministry of Lands and Resettlement
Sponsors
Partners Arts Association Heritage Trust (AAHT)
GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit GmbH on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany
Art in the House Association – Promoting Art in Namibia Bank Windhoek Arts Festival
Bank Windhoek Arts Festival
City of Windhoek
Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture (MYNSSC)
College of the Arts (COTA)
Agribank of Namibia
Goethe-Centre/NADS European Union (EU) – Delegation of the European Union to Namibia
Franco Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) John Muafangejo Art Centre (JMAC)
Würth Group
Legal Assistance Centre Namibia (LAC) Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR) Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture (MYNSSC) Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU – NLU) Namibian National Farmers Union (NNFU) National Art Council of Namibia National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) UNAM – University of Namibia, Department Visual & Performing Arts VAN – Visual Artists Namibia Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport & Culture
NAU NLU
Mediapartners Building the feminist movement in Namibia
112
Credits
Project Coordination and Compilation: Katharina Wyss, GIZ Consultant “Land Matters in Art”, GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, pr@land-matters-in-art.com Curation: Elize van Huyssteen – Art Association Heritage Trust, Kirsten Wechslberger – John Muafangejo Art Centre, Luness Mpunwa – National Art Gallery of Namibia Cover/Logo Design: Katharina Wyss, www.milch-berlin.de Catalogue Design: Steffen Lisst, www.lissst.com Language Editor: Helen Vale Photographer: Leigh Daniz Print: John Meinert Printing, printed on Green Silk 150g Publisher: National Art Gallery of Namibia in cooperation with GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany P.O. Box 994, Windhoek, Tel. +264-61-231160, Fax +264-61-240930, director@nagn.org.na ©2013 © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-99945-73-93-6
www.land-matters-in-art.com