The founder of Body Positive Namibia, Julia Hango, is without a doubt Namibia's doyenne (a respected or prominent woman in a particular field) of nude photography. Famous and controversial for her striking nude self-portraits, Julia challenges and inspires Namibians to love themselves and others, unconditionally. She took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to tell me a little more about herself and her work.
ANL: My curiosity is overwhelming, so, please, tell me who is Julia Hango? And, what do you do of an average day?
JH: I am an old soul living inside the body of a 26-year-old. I am a mother, a healer, and an artist whose work is influenced by the nuances of existence between the human body and human experience. I was born free and naked to my magical Uukolonkathi mother and Ngandjera father, in Windhoek, Namibia, and currently live on the coast, in Swakopmund. On an average day, I wake up, do yoga, and meditate in the nude, and then I attend to a list, a million creative ideas long, mixed with reminders for household chores. Every day has endless possibilities. Depending on the weather that day, I will spend the day naked inside, or outside.
ANL: What is your philosophy as an artist / photographer?
JH: It is completely expressed in the following words: My entire curvy, queer, yoga body is worthy of the fullness of my love and embrace. I am whole. My experiences and emotions are valid. I am me. I am enough. I am my one true lover. Remember your softness. I live by these words as a creative.
ANL: What drives and motivates your art / photography?
JH: My art is motivated by the human body. My own body, mainly, because I live within and experience life through it. My art is also motivated by the bodies of others and their uniqueness. Through yoga and tantra I have found new meaning in the ways of the body, its abilities and aesthetics excite me and inspire the work I currently do. I am also motivated to create artworks that are empowering and provocative through which I hope to elicit a complete feeling of freedom in our natural human state, fearless, and filled with unconditional love. Each of my photographs is pregnant with the very same potential.
ANL: Where have you exhibited your work, how often, and which exhibitions have you participated in to date?
JH: My first solo exhibition was titled Provocatore and
took place in Windhoek, in March of 2015. It was followed by Silent
Violence, that same year. Thereafter, I participated in a group
exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN), and a documentary
called #nakedspaces, featuring Namibians of various walks of life,
comfortable in their naked skins. My third solo exhibition was entitled The Womb of it All. Welcome to Me and was followed by
group exhibitions in Cape Town and Durban, in South Africa, and The
Netherlands, Sweden, and Canada. I also participated in the Amazing Namibian
Women group exhibition at the NAGN, in 2016. A story I wrote was shortlisted
for the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award and anthology.
ANL: In general, how would you describe your body of work (self-portraits and photographs)?
JH: My body of work includes mixed media works, fine art, and performance art with a little bit of video and audio know-how. I'm a self-taught artist and have a wide variety of paintings, collage, self-portraits, and “bodyscapes.” I like to think of myself as a visual body art-activist and an intersectional feminist.
ANL: What is it that you wish to convey to onlookers / spectators / viewers through your work?
JH: I wish to convey feelings of freedom and familiarity. In other words, I am you as much as you are me. If I can be this free, so can you. When someone stands before one of my artworks, I want them to see themselves. I want them to feel loved and celebrated.
ANL: What do you wish to achieve, in the long-term, through your art and photography?
JH: I really want for what I do and how I live to become an important and respected part of society. I would like to heal, teach, and inspire others to be their most loving and sensual selves. I would like to teach people about getting to know their bodies, how magical they are, and how self-healing. I want to start positive conversations about the female body, the queer body. I would also like to open my own space, in future, a shameless, in the real sense of the word, non-judgmental space, where we can all be free to learn and explore.
ANL: In many of your self-portraits you are depicted practicing yoga. Is yoga an integral part of your daily routine and why?
JH: You could say my entire life is yoga because yoga saved and helped me find my way back to me. I am nothing without yoga. I am also a certified yoga teacher, a daily practitioner because for me, yoga is a way of life. When I am in a yoga pose, I very often do not care about whether I look good or whether the photo is good because in those moments I am completely lost in the “flow.”
ANL: Your daughter appears in many of your photographs published on Facebook and elsewhere, some of them nude self-portraits – is there a reason why you have included her in your photographs?
JH: She is my life and a part of me. She is the first to experience first-hand who I am and how I choose to live. She is a free-spirited little girl who adores photographed. She is learning how soft and unique the body is. I do not foresee a future where she is not included in my art. I am grateful for every day we spend together naked, playing, and making magical memories.
ANL: How has your work been received, thus far, by Namibians from all walks of life? Can you give examples?
JH: Every scenario thus far has been different. It was unpleasant when people judged me. Now, I hardly pay attention to the background noise. I have lost close friends because of what I do, how I live, and even a best friend. Most men contact me to be “hooked up” since I know so many who are comfortable being naked, but most of the women are afraid of what society will say, even though they desperately want to feel and practice this kind of freedom. I have been told to stop what I am doing because I am doing more harm than good to women by creating an archive of female nudes (myself and others) that men can access for sexual arousal. I have been called a slut and a loose woman, while I am in a supportive, long-term relationship. My art is not pornography and not meant for sexual arousal. I was asked why I practice this type of art in Namibia because apparently, “it does not belong here.” I have been turned away by venues and shops unwilling to exhibit or sell my art and photography. On the other hand, I receive text messages every week from people wanting to be free and not caring what society says. I have had people come to my home, just for coffee and a chat so that they can escape their own oppressive realities.
ANL: You call yourself a “nudist.” How did this come about, and have you always been comfortable being nude?
JH: I prefer the term “naturist.” I was fortunate to be raised by a mother who went about naked quite often, and she was free and powerful while naked, as well. She would dance and jiggle her body as she sang along to her favourite songs when getting dressed for work, or when she got ready to take a bath before bed, or on hot summer days when she just wanted to breathe, I think. My mother was nowhere near being a naturist but the way she embodied herself in her body has forever changed the way I feel about my body. I remember having issues with my face – big lips, small eyes, too black, the usual self-hating teenage stuff but through it all, I always felt safe and comfortable in my body. I learned at a young age how to pleasure and find comfort in it.
ANL: You also call yourself a “body activist.” What does that mean?
JH: For me, as a body image activist, means standing against current social norms that dictate what a body should look like for it to be considered good, healthy, and worthy of love. I advocate for bodily autonomy, particularly for women, girls, and the LGBTQ community. Many, many people suffer from poor body image and it influences their confidence and ability to love, themselves and others, and ties in with domestic violence and sexual abuse. I am passionate about spreading knowledge and inspiring self-portraits for body positivity, regardless of shape, size, race, or gender. In a society that insists on telling us what is beautiful and tries to sell us certain standards of beauty, being a body activist is a necessity.
ANL: You are also the founder of the body positive movement in Namibia. What is it about? Who belongs to it and what is the philosophy behind the movement?
JH: Being “body positive” means fully and completely accepting and loving, as well as respecting, your own body, first, and others', exactly the way they are, and not according to society's standards of beauty and perfection. I basically founded the movement as a sister organisation of the larger body positive worldwide movement. The philosophy of the movement is that every single body, in whatever shape or form, is good enough, and deserves to be loved and taken care of. Our bodies carry our thoughts, feelings, and desires. Our bodies are always there with us, and for us.
ANL: So, what is the difference between nude art and pornography?
JH: Art is subjective and that is why this question is becoming harder and harder to answer. In simple layman's terms, pornography is created to sexually arouse the viewer. Nude art exists for the exact opposite reason. I create nude art to reclaim my body, how it is treated and perceived by society, and how the female form is fetishised by the male gaze, therefore, the difference is the context of the artist's intention. Now, that said, many people look at my art and get aroused by it, contrary to my intentions, which led me to study sex and talk openly about the taboos surrounding sex and the body on my sex education podcast mixcloud.com/TheMASTERBATORIUMwithJuliArt/.
ANL: Given pervasive negative perceptions about the LGBTQ community in our country, why have you opted to involve them in your art, and how will doing so promote tolerance and acceptance?
JH: Well, firstly, I identify as a queer pansexual, polyamorous woman, and so I find working with and within the LGBTQ community is like ''going back home'' to that part of me. It is the part of me that needs my community and like-minds, learning and exploring my own sexual and gendered identity. It is a part of me that had to come out, a part that wants and gets to work with intelligent gay folks. I hope to create a LGBTQ archive for Namibians to learn, experience, and most importantly, see the LGBTQ community, because cis-gendered males and females still do not believe that homosexuality is a real thing; many see it as witchcraft or even mental disease. My work allows the LGBTQ community to tell their stories and live out in the open, thus creating visibility, tolerance, and acceptance. Many black girls have told me about being gay and feeling ashamed, not knowing where to go or whom to talk to. Creating a safe space for these girls, women, and men to explore their sexuality is one of my biggest passions.
ANL: As a Namibian woman, what is your opinion and experience of the female body within the parametres of the “male gaze” and how can movements such as Body Positive Namibia give women ownership of their bodies?
JH: When a man looks at you, whether in public or within what should be a safe space, as a woman, you experience a heightened sense of self-awareness, good or bad, within the context of female subjectivity. Being body positive challenges us to look outside those boxes and standards placed upon us since birth by patriarchal societies, and which decide what makes a woman beautiful and accepted, and how a woman should feel and behave. The body positive movement is about stepping out of our comfort zones and living our best lives, unapologetically, no matter who we are, what, or where.
ANL: And finally, what does Julia Hango's future Namibia look like
JH: My future Namibia is a place where we will all advocate for bodily autonomy and self-love. I want a future where Namibians are free to explore their own bodies, sexually, and otherwise. I want an open future with positive conversations about sex, and collaborative healing methods. A future where women's bodies are respected for what they are...healing and life-giving. I want women to feel safe, both in their bodies and in society with their bodies. But, most of all, I want very much for all of us to be free.
If you are inspired by Julia Hango's work, like her page SiKnature Photography on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @Juliart7 and on Instagram @juliart_photography / @masturbatoriumpodcast / @plant_adoption_nam / @Bon_up_a_tree
Photographs of herself, by Julia Hango.
Written by Anya Namaqua Links: anyalinks@gmail.com. No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the writer. An abbreviated version of the full interview was published in Sister Namibia magazine, in 2018: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+ART+OF+JULIA+HANGO-a0563459702
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