When an artist dies, they leave many memorials. Some are secreted in private collections, others are cherished by family and friends and still more make up their first posthumous exhibition. For veteran local artist Trudi Dicks (83), who died in June, her recent artist's wake at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) is simply titled 'Celebrating Trudi Dicks'.
Presenting the treasure of the artist's diverse and signature works sourced from her family's personal collection, the NAGN's permanent collection as well as the Heritage Collection, the exhibition offers a space in which to recall Dick's profound contribution to the local arts scene while celebrating her as a beloved human being.
On a warm Saturday morning, friends, fellow artists and fans gather to bid their farewells, leave their fingerprints in a book near the gallery door and to learn more about the artist whose artistic practice spanned over three decades.
"Trudi Dicks is one of the most prolific artists that have walked the Namibian soil. This exhibition is meant to give an introduction to her journey as an artist stretched over about 30 years. Through her artworks, we get a sense of the person that Trudi Dicks was," says NAGN exhibitions curator Bayron van Wyk.
"She was connected with family, to her friends and of course to her fellow artists. She was reflective and she used some of her most intimate personal experiences to inspire her works."
On a gallery wall, a large timeline of Dicks' artistic life maps a wealth of work and achievement. Highlights of her career include a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of South Africa, over 20 solo shows, a number of international exhibitions and features, various Tulipamwe workshops, an art scholarship and honours in France, a Triangle Workshop in New York and an exhibition at Cité des Artes in Paris.
Throughout her creative life, Dicks' work was a reflection of her artistic agility. Considering politics, spirituality, her beloved pet tortoise Harry, the natural world and cycling, Dicks offered insight into her life, family, friends and passions through vivid callography, painting, linoleum prints, woodcuts, metal etching and sculpture.
During her life, Dicks persevered through a number of health challenges, including cancer and hearing loss. The latter is credited with allowing Dicks to more deeply immerse herself in the visual world.
An uncredited quote on Dicks' website states: "The vivid intensity of her art may be linked on one hand to her integrity and commitment to her subject matter and on the other to her intense engagement with the visual realm as she was born with a hearing impairment."
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Dicks signed her work 'GSM Dicks' which is an abbreviation of her full name Gertruida Sophia Maria Dicks. The artist won the Bank Windhoek Triennale Judge's Special Mention in 2008, first prize for New Media in 2014 and a Lifetime Achievement award in 2017.
Though Van Wyk didn't know Dicks in life, the curator feels grateful for a posthumous encounter with the artist. This metaphorical meeting was facilitated by her husband Bill Dicks and nephew Geoff Dicks, who opened their homes, shared their memories and loaned artworks to the NAGN for the occasion of the exhibition.
'Celebrating Trudi Dicks' will be on display at the NAG until 14 September. To learn more about the artist, visit trudi-dicks.com
- martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com
