Brilliant direction through a colourful maze

Local artist Kirsten Wechslberger is on a special mission to force ordinary people to use all their senses to appreciate art. Her latest exhibition, “Navigating the Maze”, starts next week Friday at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre in Windhoek.
Navigating the maze is a conceptual exhibition where the idea precedes the choice of material. It is designed to create awareness in the viewer of their life choices and emotional states. This exhibition has the viewer becoming the participant. Wechslberger hopes to challenge viewers to become responsible for their own choices in life.

The exhibition consists of participatory artworks, installation and performance/video installation. Opening the exhibition will be Sabine Aquilini, former Director of the Goethe Centre in Windhoek.
The participatory artworks require the viewer to become part of the artwork by engaging and experiencing it physically.
The participatory artworks require the viewer to become part of the artwork by engaging and experiencing it physically. The major participatory/performance art piece ’Tunnel’ is a 15 m2 multimedia work which demands all the senses to experience two opposing states of being. It takes a few minutes to experience.
The second participatory art or performance piece called ‘Maze’ is another multimedia set which encourages the viewer/participant to reflect on their personal experiences by following pre-existing pathways applicable to their own life.
‘Choices’ is a suspended installation comprising seven round discs, each one representing a different energy centre.
The last work titled ‘Vulnerable’ is a performance artwork. It consists of a variety of mediums including a video and a live performance by Wechslberger.
It speaks of the vulnerability of boundaries be it physical or emotional, especially of women and children that have gone through some form of abuse.