Staff Writer
WINDHOEK, April 6 — Vincent Karavina’s journey from Bulawayo in southwest Zimbabwe to Windhoek, the Namibian capital, has been a long and eventful one. He arrived in Namibia with his family and began cleaning swimming pools in the city’s suburbs to earn a living. It was here that he stumbled upon the “art island,” a roundabout near a parking lot where he set up shop and started creating his unique kinetic art pieces.
Vincent’s art is made from recycled scrap and repurposed materials, such as automobile bearings, that he purchases from junkyards. He uses them to create windmills of all shapes and sizes that turn furiously in the city’s constant winds. His art has been widely appreciated and bought by households and hotels with small acreages, as well as by tourists passing through Windhoek for safaris and sightseeing.
Vincent’s journey as an immigrant artist has not been easy. He lives with his family in Katutura, a suburban township in Windhoek, where Africans were removed from the city proper in the 1960s. Vincent’s passport and other documents have expired, and he is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to renewing them. However, he continues to create with his hands, even taking on odd jobs like tile-laying to feed his family.
Vincent’s story is a testament to the resilience and creativity of immigrant artists, who often go unnoticed and ignored by tour operators and others in the art world. Yet, they continue to create and inspire with their unique perspectives and techniques, using whatever materials they can find to make something beautiful and meaningful.
Vincent’s art is a celebration of Windhoek’s famous winds, which he harnesses to create beauty and movement in his work. His story is an inspiration to all those who face adversity and obstacles in pursuing their passions and dreams.
– Namibia Daily News
