Art Review … ‘Sands of Time’

Mother Nature provides a wealth of art materials in ‘Sands of Time’. An exhibition by Karl Pieter Farao that makes use of sand, seeds, wood, buck, fish, horns, copper, leather and mahangu to create the array of landscapes in miniature maps and wall hangings currently on display at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre’s Restaurant La Bonne table.

Oscillating between puerile two dimensional dioramas and accomplished pieces like ‘Echo’, Farao is at his best when showcasing his ability to work precisely with a variety of sand to create geometric and striking wall hangings that are as symbolic as they are aesthetically intriguing.

Presenting radiating lines in reverse to symbolise one’s voice bouncing back in the visual depiction of the phenomenon, ‘Echo’ is as sound as ‘Heritage”s circles within circles illustrating that what we inherit is passed on and on without end.

Almost ancient in its aesthetic and shamanic in its mood, Farao’s exhibition does indeed feel like a step back in time. To an old world populated by prehistoric people who used what they found simply to adorn walls or invite good fortune.

As in ‘Balance in Life,’ a wall hanging made of a line of stones or ‘Exceeding Boundaries’ where a piece of bark mimics a feather in the sand.

A modest display of mixed media incorporating an assortment of natural items that Farao collects while travelling the country, the artist’s journeying is most evident in a large leather map of Namibia that makes use of stones and shells to represent the coast, blue string as river and small wooden elephants to represent those roaming in the Caprivi.

Erratic, sometimes striking but in need of far stricter curation and direction, in his first solo exhibition, Farao has some promising moments buoyed by a pure and naturalistic style.