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Culture SURREAL VALUE
NEW IRELAND STATUE SELLS FOR K7.29M
BY RICHARD ANDREWS | PHOTOGRAPH: CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD
An historic winning bid of €1.8 million (K7.29 million) for a ceremonial wooden statue has drawn international attention to the significance of New Ireland’s culture and its influence on Western art.
Sold by Christie’s auction house in Paris, the 140-centimetre Uli figure led sales among Papua New Guinean statues, masks and decorative objects in a recordbreaking auction of African masks and Oceanic works of art.
The statue was part of an early 20th century collection by Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Wostrack, a German colonial officer stationed in Namatanai. Other collectors included Franz Boluminski, stationed in Kavieng, who donated more than a thousand Malangan pieces to German museums.
Their boxes of artefacts and wild tales back home helped spread European interest in New Ireland’s art beyond the ethnographers. The elaborate, multi-meaning sculptures appealed to the Surrealists and their preoccupation with dreams and worlds beyond reality. “Dreams played a key role in the Surrealist philosophy,” says Christie’s African and Oceanic art specialist, Victor Teodorescu. “Surrealists found the confirmation of their own artistic approach, based on the reality of dreams and not on rational thoughts,” he says. “They saw in these sculptures a source of inspiration for the fundamental departure from the Western traditions of rationality and logic.” Carvings in the British Museum particularly fascinated Henry Moore, considered one of the most important 20th century artists. Closely connected with the Surrealists, Moore began studying New Ireland sculptures in the 1920s and they became a strong influence on his colleagues. The movement’s leader, Andre Breton, and The 140-centimetre Uli statue that was sold by Christie‘s auction house other prominent members owned in Paris. and exchanged New Ireland statues
The statue was part of a collection by Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Wostrack, a German colonial officer stationed in Namatanai.
used in funerary and fertility rites.
A century later, New Ireland’s influence continues.
Controversial New York artist Jeff Koons melted down a collection of 67 guns owned by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to create Uli – a metal sculpture inspired by an original Uli statue.
According to the story, Penn was persuaded to give up his arsenal about seven years ago, when he was dating fellow Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, an anti-gun activist. (Ironically, she later played Furiosa, the heavily armed War Captain in the Mad Max movie Fury Road.)
Commissioned by Penn, Koons’ sculpture was sold at a charity auction for K4.94 million ($US1.4 million). Not bad, but well short of the real thing.
Food COOKING CLASS
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR PNG’S BUDDING CHEFS
BY CARMEL PILOTTI | PHOTOGRAPHS: GODFREEMAN KAPTIGAU
Being on top of your game is vital in the highly competitive food industry, which demands an elite level of creativity and innovation.
At the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) in Port Moresby, commercial cookery trainer Chef Christopher Lokei aims to equip his students with the confidence required to re-enter the trade with new vigour and preparedness.
“Candidates are not newbies,” he says. “They’ve had some form of experience as dishwashers or line cooks, so they have an idea on the basic operation of a kitchen – what we do is nudge them in the right direction.”
There are 25 study units, completed over six months, undertaken by students to give them the knowledge to operate in a commercial food environment. One of the units even teaches them skills in high culinary art.
“We show them modern techniques so they are right up there with global trends,” Chef Christopher says.
“An oven, for example, is thought
CHEF CHRISTOPHER LOKEI
Above: Chef Christopher Lokei. Above left: One of the students plating up a meal at the cooking school. Right: PNG students are dishing up meals that are right up there with global trends. This one is beef fillet with sweet potato fondant, roast root vegetables and a red wine reduction.
Top: A dessert of fried guava pie with miso caramel butter and sour cream ice cream. Above: A student in the kitchen pays attention to detail at the APTC cookery school.
of in terms of baking and roasting but if you understand your equipment you can also steam in the oven, proof your breads and you can sous vide (the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath), which is trending in many kitchens around the world.
There are tasting events open to the public at the APTC’s Aria Restaurant throughout the year where you can try some of the culinary school’s finest creations.
I sampled octopus soused at 77 degrees in a sealed bag packed with various seasonings for five hours. The octopus was lightly grilled and served with a breadfruit puree and coconut.
The breadfruit, usually smoked on open coals or cut up and fried in Papua New Guinea, was used in this dish as a puree.
“It’s just something the guys (students) came up with,” Chef Christopher says. “We try to get a hint of localisation in there; we encourage creativity and give them space to use local ingredients.”
For dessert, I sampled guava pie served with miso caramel butter and sour cream ice cream – a local twist to the pear pie, with an ingredient abundant in the country.
Getting apprentices ready for the workforce goes beyond skill and creativity for Chef Christopher.
“As a Papua New Guinean, I put a lot of effort on mind set – we do industry consultation and we often hear that there are absenteeism and punctuality issues. So we emphasise to our students that they need the right mind set for this profession,” he tells PNG Now.
“If someone is not cut out for this industry, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb – there are a lot of stars here; they just need to be moulded,” he says.
