‘Dusk Till Dawn’ – An exhibition by Annie Olivier

ANNIE Olivier, a farm girl from the Kalahari, knows the magnificence of nature and the landscapes her art aims to reflect.

Since she was younger, her family travelled during holidays all over southern Africa. Her art reflects many of these different landscapes.

She started her artistic training in Namibia and later completed a diploma in fine art at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Cape Town where her interest and fascination for nature grew. Now she is working to capture bioluminescent life using ultra-violet light and fluorescent acrylic, showing the most spectacular aspects of nature and its magical dimensions, giving the viewer a feeling of space and letting them see the magic that exists all around, especially in Namibia.

These artworks are a way of escaping reality and capturing those magical hours between dusk and dawn. Olivier highlights the beauty of Namibian nature in all its diversity: During the dry season, winds and dust in the air create striking red sunsets, at that time the full moon also rises in a red haze against a starlit background to light up the surrounding landscape. Multi-coloured clouds decorate the sky during the rainy season. The Atlantic Ocean and hostile desert have caused many deaths to the unprepared and yet a few special animals thrive in this solitary environment, including some fascinating, people-shy ones. The notorious Skeleton Coast has many shipwrecks and ghost towns. Many visitors ignore the cautionary name to experience the untamed beauty that it holds. On clear nights, far from cities and towns, the ocean sometimes mirrors the night sky’s glory. Under such conditions, dinoflagellates and other bioluminescent life may add some of their own kinds of stars to the scene, leaving trails of phosphorescence where disturbed.

Olivier makes you discover again, with new eyes, the intensity of Namibian nature and wildlife in general. Her art is very expressive, full of colour and brightness; reality becomes a dream. Discover the hidden glow captured with the flick of a switch.

‘Dusk Till Dawn’ opens on Monday, 16 July, at 17h30 and will run until 7 August at the Franco-Namibia Cultural Centre’s Simon Lumbu gallery. Entrance is free.

– FNCC