Name: 80 x 64, Acrylic on canvas, XXXXXXX, 2000
Bennett describes the strength and beauty of this girl’s look in super-model terms. He is amazed at how healthy she appears and how perfect her skin is, despite being exposed to the elements every day.
Red ochre, dug up and ground by the Himba peoples, is smeared with fat all over the bodies of Himba females, (for visual appearance and to protect their skin from the sun.) A rather thicker coating of this mixture is rubbed into the hair. Interestingly, all girls are very similar in their appearance so far as their hair and body adornment, and their look is very distinctive. They wear a small cowhide skirt and a simple body piecing made from metal, plastic, thread and shells. On the top of their heads is a small piece of cowhide, placed there to emulate the horns of a cow, their most valued possession.