A fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot get stranded exhibition Volume 2 opens at FNCC

show at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) from 8th – 22nd August. 

This exhibition departs from an observation of the recurrence of fish in contemporary Namibian art. We only have to attend a local exhibition or work through a collection of Namibian art and we are likely to find representations or engagement with fish or other water resources. This observation begs for a curatorial intervention reflecting on the ways in which fisheries and water cultures have been historically expressed in Namibian art. The title ‘the fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot be stranded’ is a popular African proverb which metaphorically and literally speaks to experiences of survival, livelihoods and mobility. It emphasizes both the fish and water as relational, marked by movement.

This exhibition is the first volume of many to follow, presenting a discursive and historical outlook on how artists in Namibia’s post-coloniality are thinking with and through images of fish, water and the natural environment. It is a collection of prints, photography, mixed-media works, installations, music, performances, documentation of previous artwork and literature relating to the political and socio-economic uses of oceans, rivers, reservoirs, springs, lakes and groundwater.

Volume 2 will include works by local artists such as Shomwatala Shivute, Kay Cowley, Samuel Mbingilo, Tuli Mekondjo, Veronique Kuchekena-Chirau, Julia Hango, Ismael Shivute and Joseph Madisia.