By Adolf Kaure.
Namibian artist Josef Madisia’s artworks are on display at the Woermannhaus Art Gallery after he officially launched his latest exhibition tilted Visual Art Narratives at the Coast in Swakopmund.
The exhibtion is made up of various contemporary prints which he assembled from 2012 to 2022.
This captures his creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the last three years as well as the Fishrot saga.
According to Madisia, art can shape how we think as a society.
“As Namibians, we see how cartoons in the newspapers speak to the man on the street. People will laugh because satire is part of it and if we can laugh at ourselves a bit more we can become a happier society,” he said.
He added that art as a subject should function more seriously at school level as the current curriculum has neglected it.
“At the moment art is a mere non-promotional subject. If art becomes a promotional subject some of the learners who are not academically inclined but skills inclined, if that is developed more at school level, it can contribute more to design.”
“There is very little to design for example to produce something. Graphic design is done on a computer, You need an artwork which you can use for the design that you do on the computer,” said Madisia.
Josef Madisia currently resides in Mariental. With limited physical connection for the last 10 years, it allowed him to turn inwards within his own locality. This expanded his inspiration.
Such isolation enabled him to reach deep into the depths of his mind’s catalogue of memories, creating new and entirely newly imagined worlds, images and landscapes.
The artist has enjoyed presence through attending and participating in exhibitions, symposiums and master class workshops. As a Namibian artist since 2012 he has shown tremendous growth and is widely recognised for his original work.
The Visual Art Narratives at the Coast exhibition concludes on 29 January.
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