OH, MY GOODNESS!

Atwo-woman powerhouse with vastly different backgrounds in many creative facets have come together to create Oh, My Goodness!. The duo exhibition by Heidi Louw and E-Tunga Studio opened on 24 August at BELLHAUS Atelier & Galerie and will run until 8 October 2022. With a name chosen for the exhibit that is mostly used as an expression of surprise, this duo will no doubt surprise but even more so share the goodness that is theirs.

Both of these extremely authentic, humble, and preferably “behind the scenes” individuals have the ability, through their creative expression, to give us insight into a world that is raw, real and free from pretences. No shiny happy people, no bubble gum smiles and no fuss.

Heidi Louw lives to paint; art is in her genes. The stories of her artworks are music to the eyes where expressions and situations waltz around the canvas accompanied by a chorus of exceptionally rare colour combinations and compositions. Her portraits are candid and real whilst the still lives ooze serenity. Each artwork leaves the onlooker curiously intrigued. Heidi’s artworks portray fiction rather than fairytale, they aren’t pretty, bold and loud but calm, subdued and considered. “For now colour is a very big thing for me. Black, browns and greys aren’t negative for me, it’s just what I feel most comfortable with. It feels more like me, who I am”, she says while she talks about her still life Abstract City.

Heidi’s technique is naturally defined by her uncommon brush strokes, her sense of colour and the particular way in which she portrays human beings. The person she paints becomes an individual because she wants them to be distinct and authentic. “I have an itch to make the people in my paintings different. They are who they are – there is no pretentiousness.” In Mama Skiatos the artist took inspiration from an experience she had looking at photos from a Greek wedding she attended. The bride’s facial expression and the angle in which the photo was taken moved her to paint the portrait in a simple but largely effective manner. The balance is right, there is depth and there is a sense of wonder. Factors that make Heidi Louw's paintings most desirable.

Enter E-Tunga Studios headed by the creative hands and mastermind of Elisia Nghidishange. Well-known and awarded as a mixed media sculptor and printmaker, Elisia opened E-Tunga Studios at the Eembaxu Campus of the Namibia University of Science and Technology in December 2021. The mission of the artist studio based in the Ohangwena Region in the far north is to provide art classes and workshops. A passion she shares with Heidi Louw who also owned a teaching ceramics studio in Walvis Bay.

As a little girl Elisia watched her mother creating traditional pots for household activities and helped her to prepare the clay in return for being given clay to make her own small pots. In this exhibition Elisia is returning to her roots by exploring product development and designing for E-Tunga Studios. Something she wants to pass on and inspire others to do. And inspirational she is, working on the objects for Oh, My Goodness! and shaping 80kg of clay by hand.

One of the most distinctive shapes of the exhibition makes you think of a termite hill seen from the inside with its many corridors. It is, however, not inspired by the insect but by the warmest sense of light that exists. Fire. “When I thought of creating the candle holders the first thing that came to mind was my childhood. We didn't grow up with electricity, all we knew as a source of light was firewood and on the rare occasion candles, which we sometimes just used to light up the firewood, and I thought how great to combine the use of these two as one object”, Elisia reveals. This candle holder doubles as a piece of contemporary design that is also functional. A clever way in which she honours her roots once again by going back to creating functional objects for use in the home.

Another signature piece of the E-Tunga Studio collection is the elongated vertical vase-like object that appears like a monk wearing a textured woollen coat. The use of colour compliments one of Heidi’s favourite go to’s – the brown palette. Elisia was inspired by traditional objects and taking them to the next level. “Traditional pots were always made using baskets, the baskets created very interesting lines, but these lines were cleaned off later, because they were not meant to be there. I thought I could use them as an inspiration to create something useful”, Elisia describes her vision.

Bringing these two artists together was like bringing a moth to the flame. Both have a levelheaded and realistic approach to how they see their art. They love what they do rather than doing it for exposure, recognition, or fame. “I am content and once a painting is finished, I have given it my everything and have reached the ultimate happiness. I am not sentimental about my art; I can let it go. It’s the creative process I thrive on, not the end product”, Heidi adds. Similarly, Elisia confirms, “All I can say is that I will never stop creating, whether I see myself or my business somewhere or not, I don’t really care. As long as I can do what I love. I am happy.”

These two women coming together to create Oh, My Goodness! is reminiscent of words attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” A beautiful sentiment to aspire to.