4 minute read
UNTITLED
In a world increasingly obsessed with certainty and finished products, the exhibition Untitled offers something far more compelling: potential. Featuring four emerging Namibian artists – Nicole Schaller, Nghihaluka “Luka” Ndivayele, Stephnie Mans and Pontsho Kemba – this group show embraces open-endedness, first steps, experimentation and practice.
The name Untitled nods to the beginning of something significant – work still taking form, stories just beginning to be shared and artists finding their voice in a shifting cultural landscape. The exhibition, therefore, is an invitation for viewers to witness a moment of artistic unfolding.
Textile artist Nicole Schaller, born in Otjimbingwe and now based in Windhoek, shares a unique take on portraiture. Working primarily with hand embroidery on leather and hessian, Schaller’s pieces explore cultural identity, particularly that of the Damara people. Her art is steeped in tradition, yet deeply personal. “I was initially drawn to jewellery,” she recalls of her time at the College of the Arts, “but I found my way to textiles.” Her self-taught embroidery techniques began as decoration on garments and matured into a method of storytelling. “I’m exploring the lost culture through portraiture, restoring identity thread by thread.” Influenced by heritage sites in the Kunene Region and the Living Museum of the Damara, her work straddles history and the present, using colour to convey emotion, memory and resilience.
Luka Ndivayele, a painter working primarily in oils, describes his relationship with art as inevitable. “I was never really inspired – I just never saw myself doing anything else,” he says. Luka’s early obsession with black and white was born from both its visual clarity and a fear of colour, until a generous teacher’s gift of watercolours helped him unlock a more vibrant palette. Now a committed oil painter, Luka finds inspiration in the lives of others, especially stories that often go untold. As the grandson of a man exiled during Namibia’s struggle for independence, Luka says, “Some people fought for something they would never see. Their stories deserve to be told more than mine.” His work quietly honours intergenerational sacrifice and the unseen narratives that shaped Namibia’s freedom.
In contrast, Stephnie Mans, a part-time art student and practicing physiotherapist, takes a deeply introspective approach. Her mixed-media works translate internal states of emotional terrain – grief, joy, longing – into texture, colour and form. “Art has always felt like a universal language to me,” she shares. “I’m fascinated by how something invisible like an emotion can become something visible, tangible.” Her work resists traditional definitions and thrives on experimentation. Whether layering materials or allowing chance to influence the outcome, Stephnie is driven by a curiosity about what lies beneath the surface of human experience.
At just 21, Pontsho Kemba’s oil paintings speak of identity, body politics and the evolving realities of womanhood. Influenced by her creative upbringing – her mother was a florist who surrounded her with craft and colour – she explains, “Painting lets me be loose. I can break the rules but still honour the academic side of art.” Her most recent pieces reflect on pregnancy and early motherhood, capturing the physical and emotional transformation with honesty and vulnerability. “Namibia is still very conservative when it comes to women’s stories,” she says, “but I’m proud to be part of a generation of female and queer artists telling our stories our way.”
Together, these four voices are shaping what the future of Namibian art could look like – vibrant, diverse and rooted in local experience. Untitled opened at The Project Room on Friday, 20 June and will run until Saturday, 19 July.
Laschandre Coetzee
The Project Room - Namibia
