Work:

Avis dam (2001)

After returning to Windhoek, Trudi looked for a new venue to show her art. She chose Avis Dam, about 3 kilometres east of the city. Her developing theme became an extension of her Dusty Diary project. At a later stage she added wind activators which enabled the cone-shaped objects to turn in the wind while being secured to the dam floor with home-made anchors. The drifting shapes were indented and decorated in bright colours and pieces of aluminium to catch the eye of the viewer.

Trudi’s objective was to create one object for each month of the year based on the sentiments of some of her friends and artists she knew. She asked them to write something about their birth months for her.

She received the following:
March – Carola Elliot: Can man and beast be friends?
April – Ingrid van Graan: Kiewetjie, a local bird in Easter
May – Angela van Tol: The song of a bird has no meaning
June – Patsy van der Reis: Active, a definite pattern of life
July – Julian Jarrett: Wearing a September beanie
August – Christine Marais: Dry grass underfoot
September – Amanda van Dyk: Spring is in the air
October – Rebecca: Flowers are forever
November – Jean Lombard: Verjaarsdae en krismis
December – Bill Dicks: The Taliban is active

The project was self-exploratory, and Trudi financed and arranged it entirely by herself. The Avis Dam environ is one of Namibia’s most important bird sanctuaries. Sue Mallet Veale supplied Trudi with monthly bird-counts. The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) willingly supplied monthly information about the trees. Mr Robbertse from the City of Windhoek Municipality supplied Trudi with information from the municipal archives. This assistance and the blessing of Greenspace Namibia enabled her to successfully bring the project to fruition. Thia information was displayed at the dam for visitors to read.

The information provided by the NBRI and Greenspace was documented monthly and preserved in containers for effortless reading by visitors to the NBRI and the Municipality of the City of Windhoek.

Trudi regards the Avis Dam project as the highlight of her career. Illustrated by USB images, photographs and a video, which shows the movement of the drifting objects and the anchors that tied them down.