MARGARET COURTNEY-CLARKE

Margaret Courtney-Clarke, a photographer, and Moses Helao, a weaver, - two Namibians with a passion for the African landscape, have combined their skills to make unique carpets with their roots securely in the visual traditions of the continent.

Collaborating has extended the practice of both artists. Photographs from Courtney-Clarke’s books have become classics in the documenting of art produced by women. They are a rich source of images and inspiration which the Namibian weavers evolve further on the loom.  

Made from 100% Swakara wool, a fibre derived from the Namibian variant of the Karakul - the product is deeply rooted in the Namibia landscape. The Swakara wool has both coarse and fine fibres and varies in colour from black to shades of tan and grey. Lightweight yet with a strong fibre the fleece is spun into a superior carpet yarn. All preparations of the fibre, from carding to spinning, dyeing with organic colour and the final weaving occur in Mose’s workshop. The resulting carpets are flat woven, thus fully reversible, and may be hung on the wall as independent art works or are hardy enough to be placed on the floor.

“Courtney-Clarke’s ground-breaking early work across North West and Southern Africa documents women’s creative practices in the domestic sphere. Creating a rich archive of images her trilogy Ndebele (1986), African Canvas (1990) and Imazighen (1996), now provides material for a new creative endeavour. Reinterpretations of fragments of wall painting, textiles and ceramics are woven, literally, into a new conversation across media. The unique carpets, with Courtney-Clarke’s signature ‘hanging thread’ inspired by an ancient Berber proverb “life is a loom, whose threads are the days. God decides when to cut the threads, even though [the work] may be unfinished”, stand as works of art in their own right. Intersecting pattern, symbol and historical context these carpet/wall hangings manifest in an imaginative reconfiguration that acknowledges a variety of African traditions and challenges the divide between art and craft”.

Virginia MacKenny, Associate Professor of Painting, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town