Windhoek’s few prestigious fine art galleries are rare. Elisia Nagidishange will be exhibiting at 2 galleries, as spring sweeps through the city.
‘Ehafo’, the visual artist’s sculptural ode to joy amidst the pandemic, opens at a sophisticated StArt Art Gallery soirée at the Namibian Arts Association’s minimalist new headquarters on Robert Mugabe Avenue.
Downtown in the rustic rooms of the quaint Bellhaus Atelier & Galerie, Nghidishange shares the spotlight with artist Heidi Louw in an unlikely joint presentation titled ‘Oh, My Goodness!’ Louw’s expressive, character-driven paintings are juxtaposed with Nghidishange’s E-Tunga Studio’s modern interpretation of traditional ceramics in a joint presentation titled “Oh, My Goodness!”
Nghidishange and Paulus Kambinda discuss ‘Modern Transforms Traditional’. The studio was a fantasy in the interview.
“I hope that with all the effort I have put into this exhibition, I will be able to raise enough money to finish building my visual art studio up in the north,” Nghidishange said at the time.
Three years later E-Tunga Studio at Eembaxu is an arts and art training center at Eembaxu. This village is in the Ohangwena Region. It is a colourful geometric dream that Nghidishange has realized. Here, the artist and a few assistants teach art, pottery, jewellery-making to over 50 students, most of them children.
“I look at myself and how I came up with the idea of doing art and it was really difficult for me. First, I was working with pottery and then I realised I need some experience and skills to develop and for me to get that was really a thing,” says Nghidishange.
“I went around and when I saw somebody drawing and doing art, I would ask them where they learnt it from and people didn’t know and sometimes they didn’t want to tell you,” she says.
“I kept on searching until I came to know that there is the College of the Arts (Cota). While I have the experience and I know what I know, I don’t want these kids or these people to go through what I went through,” says the Cota alumnus (2016).
Nghidishange went on to exhibit at various group showcases, host four solo exhibitions, completed her first international artist’s residency in Rapperswil (Switzerland) in 2019, and won the second prize for sculpture in the Bank Windhoek Triennial, 2020.
“I want to give the community somewhere they can go and ask about art, study art, come and get some skills where I am able to give and where I’m not then I’m able to direct them where to go.”
E-Tunga Studio’s bricks and mortar existence – as challenging as it is to finance out of her own pocket – is a full-circle moment for Nghidishange, who began her artistic exploration with the humble hunks of clay issued as a reward for helping her mother prepare the materials for her traditional pots.
Pots similar to the Bellhaus. Nghidishange created them as a reflection her own experiences growing up far away from the bright lights, flip-of-a switch electricity, and seemingly typical of the city.
“The candleholders,” says Nghidishange, referring to the earthy, three-point, clay candelabras that form part of the studio’s collection for ‘Oh, My Goodness!’.
“To explore that design, I immediately thought of the first time I saw a candleholder and how we used it in the village,” she says.
“We didn’t have electricity. The only thing we had was firewood and the candleholders which were not even a lot, but they were very nice because when you fire them with a match then they hold the fire,” Nghidishange says.
“Especially when it rained, it’s not always that we keep the firewood somewhere dry, so it got wet and lighting it took long so we used candleholders to hold the fire until we could light the firewood up.”
The candleholders are displayed alongside a collection of traditional vases, containers and soup bowls – all items Nghidishange hopes to develop with E-Tunga Studio’s production artists as signature offerings that can ultimately help fund the school, which she believes is vital.
“People have different feelings about art. While some parents might not be able to understand the concept, others can. It’s only that they can’t afford it but, from the reaction of the kids, I can tell you that they are so hungry to have it,” says Nghidishange, recalling an increase in attendance after a workshop with the Namibian Arts Association.
“A lot that came to the workshop came to register. The next Saturday, the studio was full of new kids so altogether they now add up to 50-plus kids and I don’t know what to do with them,” says Nghidishange with a laugh.
“It’s really hard for me, especially because the funding is not there and I have to do everything from my own pocket but it brings joy to them. They want to be together and do the same things. They want to do everything themselves. They want to hear your voice saying, “Wow, who did that?” They are so proud of you. They like that.”
Nghidishange, at the Bellhaus, emphasizes the difference between her studio and her individual art. This is then displayed at the Namibian Arts Association.
Nghidishange’s work spans mixed media, ceramics and sculpture. He also discusses the changing and challenging role of women within patriarchal and traditional societies, the cost of wealth, and recently, joy.
The gallery is filled with papier-mache, cloth, and welded metal sculptures. They are bent in poses that Nghidishange hopes viewers will find happiness and serenity during these difficult times.
“I just looked at what is going on around the world right now with the coronavirus and the economic downfall which came about because of the war in Ukraine and I noticed that people are so sad,” says Nghidishange.
“It’s very hard to find happiness at the moment. As an artist, most of the time we react to these things with sadness and it’s like you’re promoting what you don’t want,” she says.
“It’s time we speak of happiness and joy because we need to promote what we want,” Nghidishange says.
“In this exhibition, I only want to bring in the things that we do when we want to be happy. Things like music, dancing, and yoga. Things you do when you don’t even want to think, you just want to do them and then you laugh.”
Nghidishange season began with the spring and ends with all the hope of an artist in bloom.
Follow Elisia Nghidishange on social media and E-Tunga Studio for more information
– [email protected]; Martha Mukaiwa (Twitter and Instagram); marthamukaiwa.com
Source: namibian
