Tag Archives: art

And sometimes they tell me their names…

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And sometimes they tell me their names…

There is something begging me

To give it a life.

A face.

A form.

Something it can relate to

So that it becomes part of our human world.

Again and again they urge me.

I know they need me.

I hear them calling, begging….

But often I am too busy with less important stuff.

Or too scared, doubting if I can do them justice,

Too scared of trusting the process….

But when I allow myself to follow their calling

Opening myself up to their wishes

Having enough faith to just get going

Having enough peace to listen to their soft voices

Speaking in no language known

Trusting what I do not understand

And following even the faintest notion,

Then they guide me softly, intensely

Telling me about the exact way

In which they would like to be made manifest.

I follow their instructions as best I can.

Sometimes we are finished after a few exciting moments

Sometimes they keep me waiting forever before each new step

Occasionally it seems so simple, so obvious

At other times it is a long struggle

But in the end we always agree.

Now they have a chance to meet you

Talk to you

If you care

To listen to their soft humming.

In a deep inner dialogue

I am standing in front of them.

Amazed and intrigued.

Grateful that I could help them to come to life in our reality

Giving them a shape to be recognized by

Or a line, a colour, a texture…

However much or little they need.

I am humbled to be their midwife.

Mystified actually.

Although they tell me many of their secrets

I still cannot grasp them,

Or fully understand their complexity…

Yet they are part of me.

They tell me all I need to know

and sometimes they tell me their names…

(c)Imke Rust

(Thoughts on how my artworks come into existence)

Portrait of a Dog

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Bolle

In his fearless quest to protect my brother and father on the farmstead, Bolle, the dog pictured above, has killed several snakes during his life. Unfortunately during his last fight with a vicious black mamba, he got bitten so badly, that unlike previous times, he did not survive the venom and died in September 2010. The loss of the dog was a very sad event for my brother, as he has raised Bolle from being a tiny puppy and the two were inseparable.

For my brother’s birthday this year, I have painted this portrait of Bolle from a photograph which I had taken some time ago. Through the artwork, at least the memory of this special dog can live on in a “physical” form.

Although I have painted many dogs, it was a personal challenge to paint the portrait of Bolle. This was not just any dog and it was meant as a gift to my brother – so it had to really look like him and hopefully also somehow catch his spirit and nature. I am happy, that somehow, while I painted, the trusted magic has happened once again and my brother was overjoyed with his gift. The painting was done on an aluminium printing sheet, which was used to print newspapers – that explains the text which shimmers through the background ;o)

My brother with his painting

Many people know me as “the artist who has painted the red dogs”, due to my firstpublic success with winning the Standard Bank Namibia Biennale with the “Bitumen Dogs” in 2001. I have often worked with images of dogs, usually as a metaphor for different human relationships, most notably for my “Power & Politics” series. I like painting and drawing dogs, they have interesting and versatile forms and shapes. And yes, I love dogs, but not more than other animals. And no, I do not have a dog myself. I am more a cat person. (Click on the links above if you like to view more dog artworks.)

Still Weeping – Four Years Later

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Shortly after completion 2007 – still standing tall

Transformation, change and a tribute to an old myth were the central topics of my land-art installation “Weeping Women” (2007). Based on the San myth about the origin of the huge salt pans at the famous Etosha National Park in Namibia, the artwork consisted of seven tall figures made out of rock-salt. The figures, representing the women who have cried so much for their murdered men and children, that their tears collected into a huge salt-lake, which eventually dried out, were intended to symbolically cry every time it rains. The pure raindrops would mix with the salt and create a natural tear solution, while at the same time also wear away the figures. The “Weeping Women” were meant to cry for all the sadness of the world and slowly wash away. Once they are gone, I hope, enough tears have flown and the world will be a better place.

By recreating the myth through my artwork, I hoped to raise the awareness about the myth, the violence we inflict on our fellow human beings and the pain and sadness of this world in general. But I also hope to offer a solution: although we need to be aware of the history, we should not get stuck in it with blaming and revenge, as this continues the vicious cycle. And just like the Christian myth of Lot’s wife, who could not let go of her past, we will turn into rigid, dry and bitter salt-pillars, unable to move forward. Through acknowledging our pain and emotions and releasing them through the salty tears we cry (and not through calls for or acts of revenge), we can mourn and heal.

The “Weeping Women” have now mourned for four rainy seasons, most of which were unusually heavy rains, with record rains recorded in Namibia during the past four months…. Maybe the world needs to cry a lot in our current times? Most of the “Weeping Women” have “done their duty” and have transformed, cried away and returned to the soil. One is still standing about 50cm high, hopefully crying her last tears during the next rainy season, after which the artwork will have disappeared and with it, hopefully also the need for further tears. I know, I am an eternal optimist and idealist…., that’s just me, but maybe I am not alone?

The last “woman” standing (17 April 2011)

To see more pictures of this work and its transformation, please click here.

Missing Artwork

Please help! This artwork of mine was last seen in October 2010 at my joint exhibition with Silke Berens “New Works” at Studio77 (Windhoek, Namibia). Unfortunately it has since disappeared (lost? stolen?) and I have never received it back.

Missing Artwork

Has anyone seen this work anywhere? I would really like it back and would be very grateful for any information about it!

A reward is offered to any information leading to the successful recovery of this artwork. Please send me a message on Facebook, my blog or twitter.

Would anybody steal an artwork in Namibia? That seems very unlikely. But on the other side, it seems very strange that it just disappeared into thin air… so I am still hoping that it will be found somewhere.

The work has a special story to it… ok, most of my artworks have, but this one is even more so. If I have time, I will write it down and share it with you on my blog soon.

Rainmaker

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Making rain???

Rain, rain, rain…. Namibia has not seen this much continuous rain in many years. I even hear some Namibians whispering softly, with guilty and apologetic looks, that maybe now it is enough rain… Too much of a good thing, is maybe also not that good. Even with flooding in the north, huge potholes in the roads and a yearning for some familiar sun and warmth, we dare not break the lucky spell by complaining. In Namibia we always want and need rain, we have seen too many droughts, been tormented with heat, water rations and desertification.

That is what I thought last year in May, when I was pondering about a motive for my next artwork: “In Namibia we always want and need rain.” It was a hot and sunny early afternoon at the Waterberg. My boyfriend and I were hiking on the mountain slope of the Waterberg Wilderness Lodge and I wanted to do a spontaneous site-specific (temporary) installation. So the easy solution was to make an image of a cloud and then to let it rain. Thought and done, this is how the “Rainmaker” artwork came into being. View more images here.

For some time I am contemplating the power of manifestation through art (either through music, dance, words or images) like for instance the “Rain Dance” preformed by many tribes for centuries and sadly often ridiculed and slowly being forgotten. What if the energy, which is set free through the creation of art – in whatever physical manifestation – is indeed a power much greater than we can imagine. And what if we can use art to manifest things we desire, like peace, love, happiness, health, wealth and…. rain?

And slowly I am wondering if it might have anything to do (in a small part) with the good rains which we are experiencing? And maybe the power of art is much bigger than even I could imagine? Which, if true, brings me to the even more important consideration: Be careful what you wish for…. because it might (or will?) come true.

I hope to still share much more with you on the subject of “manifestation through art” in the future, as it is an ongoing interest (and experiment) of mine.

By the way, the Waterberg Wilderness Lodge is a unique and extremely beautiful lodge, well worth a visit. The chalets are amazing, but for the budget traveler, they also have camping facilities available at a much cheaper cost then at NWR’s campsites next door (who additionally to the camping site charge entrance and vehicle fees etc.)

(As if to proof a point, it just started raining, AGAIN….)