Title: Strategy
Location: Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia
Series: The Indigenous Project
1. Storytelling
In the Kalahari, survival has always been about the ability to read signs: a broken blade of grass, the direction of the wind, the clouds on the horizon. But today, the signs have become harder to decipher.
In the work Strategy, we see two Ju/’Hoansi men caught in a moment of deep concentration. They are not scouting for game, but for a path through a new, invisible jungle. How does one navigate a reality where climate change dries up waterholes, and where modern legislation often undermines ancient ways of life?
The man in the foreground, with his hand under his chin, represents introverted reflection: What should we hold on to? The man behind him represents the outward gaze: What is coming towards us? The QR codes hovering beside them are symbols of the new variables in their survival equation. It is a portrait of intellectual resilience. They are looking for the next move that can secure their children’s future.
2. Catalog Text
The work Strategy is a psychological study of problem-solving under pressure. The motif shows two hunters from the Nyae Nyae area in Namibia, but the focus has shifted from the physical hunt to the mental struggle. Their facial expressions testify to the enormous cognitive task of bridging a hunter-gatherer culture and the digital age.
The artist uses an intense color palette of cyan and yellow, giving the image an “electric” charge—a visual metaphor for the brain activity and discussions taking place in the settlements. The digital elements (QR codes) on the right side of the image function as “noise” or new data that the men must relate to.
The work challenges the perception of indigenous people as simple or intuitive children of nature. Here, they are portrayed as analytical strategists actively trying to calculate the solution to complex socioeconomic challenges. It is a monument to the power of thought in a changing world.
3. Curatorial Evaluation
Analysis: In Strategy, the artist draws on the art-historical archetype of “The Thinker.” The pose of the man in the foreground—with his hand resting against his chin and his lowered gaze—signals deep contemplation and rationality.
The work’s strength lies in its duality. We see two different approaches to problem-solving: The introspective (foreground) and the observational (background). Together they form a whole, a collective consciousness.
The use of garish, almost “radioactive” colors removes any romantic notion of “primitive life.” Instead, it places the subjects in a hyper-modern context where challenges are acute. The QR codes visualize the external complexity (tourism, law, economics) that is now an inevitable part of their reality. The work insists that the survival of the Ju/’Hoansi people in the 21st century depends just as much on intellectual strategy as on physical endurance.