art-ist

To Stand Tall

Hentie Burger is doing something allout radical for a photographer his age: he is celebrating men. Namibian men, in all their idiosyncrasies, quirks and varied characters. From his vast library of photos that spans decades he pulled out portraits of the men he has encountered all over the country. The result is an eye-opening exhibition entitled Standing Tall. Namibian Men in Transition, which asks us to see past the headlines and the bad news of the day, and instead acknowledge that men, yes even men, are worthy of a viewer’s appreciative gaze.

What started out as simply the desire to capture a personality, who caught his eye, on film has developed and grown into a body of work that speaks of the colourful differences between us that make us unique. And yet, Hentie tells me, take note of the shoes. Most of the men wear polished shoes, brightly coloured shoes, or they are barefoot. A rebel, decked out head-to-black-boots with memorabilia and slips of stationary, proudly proclaiming his Herero heritage while simultaneously stating his own undefiable selfness. Some of the men show off their uniforms. Uniforms of rank, of religion, of culture.

What started out as simply the desire to capture a personality, who caught his eye, on film has developed and grown into a body of work that speaks of the colourful differences between us that make us unique.

Some uniforms are of a different sort: short pants, big floppy shirts, cigarette in hand, faded green cap over bushy grey hair. But Hentie advises me not to judge his subjects based on appearance alone. This man, he says, pointing to the barefoot Boer, is an intellectual whose house is stacked with books. From one portrait to the next it’s clear that Hentie remembers each shot. Something about these men made him want to take their photographs, and their stories have stayed with him.

Only one picture includes a woman. A family from Rehoboth during their cultural festival: a father, mother and little boy, dressed to the nines and beaming. After contemplating the picture, Hentie says it is obvious that the mother is in charge of the family. “But look how proud the little boy is.” Perhaps it is the re-thinking of manhood. Of maleness. Hentie’s exhibition asks us to recalibrate how we think of the men in our society. The men hung against the white walls ask us to see them as individuals, as unique and true to themselves.

The exhibition Standing Tall: Namibian Men in Transition took place at the National Art Association Gallery between 2 and 20 March 2020. For more information please contact Marcii Magson: curator@naa.na

Nina van Zyl