Fillipus Sheehama

Restoration of dignity, Fillipus Sheehama, recycled plastic

2020

Namibian mixed media artist Fillipus Sheehama (b. 1974) often constructs artworks using recycled and found materials which he uses to explore issues relating to social and economic inequality. Each artwork is both a reflection of society as well as a critique of contemporary living. He is preoccupied with ideas of wholeness, thinking about the relationship between individual and collective identity. The materials he chooses to use en masse- discarded bottle tops, plastics, old school desks, makalani- are quotidian and are often related to ideas around knowledge and its preservation. Life remains precarious in Namibia. From his vantage point as an educator living and working in Katutura, Sheehama is constantly confronted with the fragility produced by radical economic inequality. This is reflected most intensely in the materials he chooses to work with. Recently Sheehama has started drawing formally from traditional Nama and Herero patchwork patterning that derives from the colonial era, to create large scale installations and wall hangings. Sheehama graduated from the University of Namibia with a Bachelor of Art (Fine Art) Honours degree in 2010 and has taught Visual Arts at the John Muafangejo Arts Centre and currently lectures at the College of the Arts. Sheehama has participated in many group exhibitions locally and internationally. The artist has also had several solo exhibitions in Namibia. Collections: National Art Gallery of Namibia, Museum Würth (Germany), NARIC (Namibia), University of Namibia Collection, Development Bank of Namibia, Collection of the government of the Republic of Namibia, Private Collections: UK, USA, Namibia, the Netherlands