Earth Inside explores the past

Visual artist Nicola Brandt’s exhibition The Earth Inside opened at the National Art Gallery of Namibia last week. Earth Inside is her first solo show. The multimedia installation consists of videos, photographs, audio recordings, archival materials and other objects. Speaking at the opening, parliamentarian Professor Peter Katjavivi said Nicola is exploring Namibia as it was and as it is, using photographic images to help us understand our heritage. “The landscape she portrays is mostly empty, except for lonely figures and shadows, shadows of history. Tracks across the desert are made by vehicles and by people, in the past and in the present. These are shared landscapes,” he said. Applauding Nicola for her work, he said she is not just standing behind the camera observing, but also puts herself in the pictures. “She puts on the dress of an OvaHerero woman as she explores the heritage that connects her with those women.” Katjavivi, who is the author of A History of Resistance in Namibia, said that within the exhibition, Nicola has a section dealing with photos and German family portraits, as well as other household materials. “Here we see images of Namibia and its people. To an ordinary eye, these images represent peace and tranquilly in Namibia at the time. To people in Germany, to whom some of these pictures were sent, they would be interpreted as representing happiness and peace. However, those of us who know the history of this country, know that people were living in an unbearable colonial situation,” he said. Nicola is based in London and Namibia and is due to complete her doctorate in Fine Art at the University of Oxford this year. She creates films, photography and installations that explore stories and personal histories. She is interested in how places, objects and images carry fragmented references and memories that in both direct and unintentional ways influence our ideas and shape our lives. In The Earth Inside, she attempts to highlight particular counter-narratives and blind spots in relation to this painful past, and reflects on place and on the role of photography in shaping the perceptions of this history. The exhibition will be on show until August 23. WINDHOEK GORDON JOSEPH