UBC Museum of Anthropology (July 24 – September 29, 2013) Satellite Gallery (July 24 – August 31, 2013)
INTRODUCTION Carol E. Mayer
We have this distorted fantasy of the Pacific as paradise… I myself suffer from this delusion. —Greg Semu The Western world has developed distorted and untrue ideas about the Pacific. Fantastical and essentially mythical accounts by early explorers created stereotypic images that have persisted for over a century. They viewed the Pacific through utopian lenses and constructed an Edenic wonderland filled with endless beaches and lush tropical landscapes, inhabited by romantic images of dusky maidens and noble savages. The images were made ‘real’ through choreographed, studio-posed photographs taken in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and later reinvented and popularized through Hollywood films, such as South Pacific (1958) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). More recently, holiday pamphlets created by the tourism industry conjure up images of “Perfect palms swaying in a gentle breeze above beaches with sands as soft as powdered sugar,” and cultural experiences: “You will be greeted by the High Ranking Chief and witness an animated and authentic performance of an ancient Samoan ceremony.” Such stereotypical tropes are so well known and embedded in Western popular culture – witness the Survivor television series – that they have been resistant to, but not immune from, the realisation the Pacific cannot actually be confined within a single Western master narrative. It is too vast, too culturally and politically complex, too environmentally diverse, and has multiple histories that reach far beyond the relatively few years of colonial confinement.
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Some of the artists in this exhibition play with and invert the racism, ethnocentricity, and colonialism that lurk beneath the constructed stereotypes; others redefine and adapt their art to bring forward their traditions into the future. Working in performance, installation, sculpture, fibre art, painting, and photography, they show the Pacific Islands from an insider’s perspective and push viewers to re-evaluate their ideas of the Pacific and re-imagine the region. They address complex environmental concerns, cultural heritage issues, questions relating to the experience of migration and diaspora, and the intersection of Indigenous belief systems and Western religions. They work at the interface of customary and contemporary practice, providing an alternate, more complex vision of the region. The artists’ works in this catalogue are presented according to their location in the Museum and at the Satellite Gallery.
This exhibition was created to coincide with the XI International Pacific Arts Association Symposium "Pacific Intersections and Cross-Currents: Uncharted Histories and Future Trends," held August 6 to 9, 2013, at the Museum of Anthropology and the First Nations House of Learning on the campus of the University of British Columbia, and at the Musqueam Indian Reserve.
PAX JAKUPA PAPUA NEW GUINEA
“I create images inspired by mythical stories, colourful wildlife, and contemporary experiences from my village in the Eastern Highlands. The environment I live in is green… full of plants, leaves, and trees, and when you look further back in the mountains you see that the mountains are blue. That’s the sort of thing I try to capture. Because PNG is a developing country which the outside world knows only remotely, it is important for artists, like myself, to bring our culture and aspirations to other countries. When I show my paintings I like to talk about my cultural heritage and the tensions, which, today, are confronting my country’s rapidly modernizing society.”
Pax Jakupa, Sursab – Flute, 2008. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
Pax Jakupa was born in Bene village in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua, New Guinea. He is the son of Jakupa Ako, one of PNG’s most well-known artists. Using his father’s paints and brushes, Pax taught himself to paint and started to show his work in a local hotel. In 2003 he was awarded a Commonwealth Oceanic Arts Scholarship for study and residency at the Oceanic Centre, University of the South Pacific, Fiji. He went on to the University of Goroka where he completed diplomas in Creative Industries and Teaching. He continues to show his work in Goroka and has had solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Australia. This was the first time his work had been shown in Canada.
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TE RONGO KIRKWOOD AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND)
Te Rongo Kirkwood’s cloak forms from the exhibition Ka Awatea: A Journey of Life Through Light is a personal exploration of the Maori cloak form, taking it from a ceremonial garment to a sculpted art object, where it is used to depict a spiritual journey through the cycle of life. Traditionally, the cloak (kahu) was held in high esteem by Maori as an item of adornment and prestige – a treasured artifact (taonga) that had a “persistent capacity to collapse genealogical space-time, allowing ancestors or tipuna to remain ‘in touch with their descendants’ through ‘providing aho or threads that join layers of generational time.’” With Ka Awatea, Te Rongo uses the cloak or kahu as metaphor, providing the gallery visitor with a personal view of a life played out in significant and successive stages, from the perspective of a soul. Each of the aesthetic and formal evolutional changes between the cloaks represents a stage in a sequential journey through that life – rendered as morning, midday, afternoon and evening – and symbolizing growth, transformation and the gaining of wisdom. Te Rongo Kirkwood (Waikato, Taranaki, Wai o hua, Te Kawerau, Ngai Tai ki Tamaki) was born in Auckland, New Zealand of Maori and Scottish heritage. She is a full-time artist and her specialty is kiln-formed, cold-worked glass. Through focusing on this applied art process and medium, Te Rongo has been able to creatively explore inspirational concepts with influences coming from both her Maori and Scottish heritage and her profound interest in the overlapping Maori and shamanic celestial worlds. She has exhibited widely in New Zealand and North America and is the recipient of numerous awards for her work.
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Te Rongo Kirkwood, Whakatupuranga – The Midday of Life, 2012. Kiln-formed cold-worked glass, flax fibre, cotton cord. Courtesy of the artist
MICHAEL TIMBIN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
“This work tells the story of a family. Pasinawi and Pasindawa are the two small figures at the base and are the children of the central figure. The children were unhappy at home, and in order to escape, one transformed into a snake and the other an eel. The snake lived the rest of his life (presumably happy) on land, and the eel in the river.� Michael Timbin is the son of master carver Joseph Timbin from Palembei Village. He lives in an environment rich in the natural resources that have sustained life for centuries but are now under the threat of mining and forestry companies. His carvings are complex, inspired by myths passed down as oral traditions, now in competition with the new proximity of internet and mobile phone services.
Michael Timbin, Pasinawi and Pasindawa (detail), 2007. Kwila wood, shells, bush fibre, human hair, natural pigments. 2716/12.
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GEORGE NUKU
AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND) George created Waharoa/Portal: Te Ao Marama – The World of Light during a residency at the UBC Museum of Anthropology, June – July, 2013. He says, “This artwork’s shape and elements are dictated by its site, availability of materials, and time; these are some of the factors that determine a given tradition. I say that it is a traditional practice to be innovative. The composition of Waharoa speaks to the ancestors and forces of nature that are present in this Great Hall. The Plexiglas as a material speaks to light and the water that surround us; they are the source of life itself. The abalone shell and the white feathers speak directly to the wood that surrounds us – the union of earth, sea, and air. The red and black paint, and the cord binding everything together, represent time/space and male/female aspects respectively. The Waharoa communicates to the people that the past is in front of us and the future we remember.” George Nuku, Maori artist, works in stone, bone, wood, shell, polystyrene and perspex. His works range from delicate jade and pearl amulets and stone sculptures of life-size figures through to two-storey-high Polynesian demigods and Maori cultural heroes. He carries the traditions of his people handed down for thousands of years in art forms that expand life and enhance survival. He is also a performance artist, collaborating with a variety of Maori and Pacific artists at international venues.
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George Nuku, Waharoa/Portal: Te Ao Marama – The World of Light (detail), 2013. Plexiglass, acrylic, abalone shell, feathers, cording. Courtesy of the artist
RALPH REGENVANU VANUATU
“This painting is about aspects of my cultural heritage that are no longer available in my own community, but are available overseas, particularly in London. I have chosen to emphasise the idea of place, so on one side of the picture you have the front of the British Museum and on the other side you have a nasara, or ceremonial ground. This nasara is actually the nasara of my clan on the island of Uripiv in Vanuatu, called Emil Bweterial. Uripiv is a small island off the larger island of Malakula – you can see Malakula in the background beyond the sea. Three of the Museum's Pacific objects are visible on the portico of the 'nasara': a figure and a slit gong from Vanuatu, and the Rapa Nui 'moai'. These objects are shown physically and historically separated from Vanuatu, a disconnection indicated by the red and yellow bands. However, the succession of circles ending with a double crescent moon indicates a path of connectivity. I found this moon design at the British Museum on a headdress. Through this painting I am repatriating the design.”
Former director of the Cultural Centre at Port Vila, Vanuatu, Ralph now serves as the Minister of Lands and Resources. He is a cultural leader and promoter of the preservation of cultural knowledge and, when he can, works as a visual artist. The work shown here was completed during a residency at the British Museum in 2006 and later exhibited in the travelling exhibition “Treasures of the British Museum.” Regenvanu, who retains copyright of the image, gave permission to MOA to reproduce it for the exhibition and signed it during the PAA symposium. He received the title of 'Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters)' from the French government in November 2006, for his work in the cultural heritage field.
Ralph Regenvanu, The Melanesia Project, 2006. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
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DAVID AMBONG VANUATU
The paradise-style coastlines, unique rainforests, fertile lands, and no income tax have earned Vanuatu the title of ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’ This accolade does not mention the complex issues undermining land ownership. When independence was gained from joint French and British control in 1980, all land was supposed to be returned to its original owners, but no one can agree who they are. Ambong says, “This artwork illustrates the selling of a piece of disputed land to an investor who will build shops and offices. As far as he is concerned the matter is settled; he has paid in full and is now the rightful and lawful owner. However, the land is not owned solely by the man who sold it; he is shown fighting with his own brother, who also has claim to the land (probably along with other family members). The prominence of the fight over money eclipses, for the moment, a much deeper issue of loss of land that will result in displacement and break-up of families.“
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David Ambong, Land Disputing in Port Vila, 2010. Acrylic on canvas. 3005/1.
David Ambong was born in Lembinwin village on the island of Malakula in the Republic of Vanuatu. He has frequently exhibited in Port Vila and twice in Auckland, New Zealand. The artwork displayed here was commissioned for the exhibition “Port Vila Mi Lavem Yu: Port Vila I Love You,” which was held at the East West Centre Gallery in June – September 2011. It then travelled to the UN Headquarters in New York where it was part of an exhibition on Indigenous Peoples and Food Sovereignty from May 2012 – October 2012. David continues to paint and produce woodblock prints in his spare time away from his main job working for a T-shirt printing company in Vanuatu.
MOSES JOBO ERROMANGO, VANUATU
Jobo explained that this painting depicted the coming together of the Melanesian nations for the 2002 Melanesian Cultural Festival held in Vanuatu. Every four years since 1988, people from Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands come together to participate in the Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival. It is the single opportunity for all Melanesians to share their traditional arts such as music, stories, dances, crafts, paintings, and theatre, and come together in workshops to discuss mutually important topics that include intellectual property, languages and identity, and custom and politics. “It means,” says Jobo, “that they had to come to one agreement for this gathering. On the right I tried to assemble all the elements of the five countries… along with the spirit of our ancestors.” It is a celebratory work, a combination of understandable realism, national flags and symbols, underpinned with the complexities of cultural knowledge, political histories, and concepts of aesthetics.
Moses Jobo, Melanesie, 2000. Acrylic on canvas. MOA collection.
Moses Jobo was born at Point Tut on Erromango, in the Republic of Vanuatu. Through his father and grandfather he began to feel a responsibility to perpetuate the traditions of his ancestors into the future. He is a member of the Nawita Association, a group of artists who promote and exhibit contemporary art in Vanuatu. In the past few years he has moved away from painting on canvas and now paints on bark cloth, a fabric that belongs to the material history of Erromango. His painted designs are inspired by old bark cloths in museum collections. The work he produces is innovative and very contemporary while still holding true to the customs of the past.
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ROSANNA RAYMOND AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND)
Fabricating Fashion? Installations Creations Activations A series of fabrications constructed with a variety of materials were created during a three-day workshop led by Rosanna, Katrina and Bethany. Workshop participants explored, discussed and sought to understand the creation and display of Pacific fibre arts and adornments. They considered the contemporary relevance of these arts and other textiles, how they relate to the body, how they are cared for and displayed in museums, and how they can coexist within themselves as both animated beings and objects in museum collections. During the opening of the PAA symposium their final fabrications were articulated and activated through performance and ritual – using the body to take full advantage of this unprecedented chance to express themselves creatively in ways they may never have before. Rosanna was born in Auckland New Zealand a ‘Salagi’ proud of her mixed Samoan/Anglo descent and currently lives and works in London. Raymond has forged a role for herself over the past 20 years as a producer and commentator on contemporary Pacific Island culture in Aotearoa NZ, the UK and the USA specializing with working within museums and higher education institutions as an artist, performer, curator, guest speaker, poet and workshop leader.
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Rosanna Raymond.
KATRINA TALEI IGGLESDEN FIJI/CANADA
BETHANY MATAI EDMUNDS AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND)
Katrina is a member of the large and dynamic diasporic Fijian communities of both London (United Kingdom) and Vancouver (Canada). Currently she is working on the changing social biography of masi (Fijian bark cloth) when used in contemporary contexts, such as in the rapidly expanding Fijian 'high fashion' scene.
Bethany descends from Ngati Kuri, in the far north of Aotearoa, NZ. She is an artist, weaver, MC and youth mentor. As a weaver she has an intimate knowledge of native plants as natural resources, their properties, and harvesting and preparation practices. Her interests, experience and research compare techniques and materials used in Maori cloaks as seen in museum collections in Aotearoa, England and America.
TOM DEKO
PAPAU NEW GUINEA “Making art is recording your history. Others will look at what you’ve done and learn about you. “My sculptures are meant to be lively: viewers should sense the presence of life, not just an object. Looking at my artwork you see everything flowing. Rivers curve and flow down to the sea; wind flows like a river. I want my figures to look like they’re floating in air. My ideas are mostly drawn from my traditional cultural setting, but I draw from other cultures as well. I show changes that I see, too. For example, I’ve done a lot of work about music and musicians. I believe the changes that have come about in music are very important. People are moving away from traditional ways of entertaining, singing, and making music, in a way that responds to the tensions and ambiguities inherent in the more modern influences. This both concerns and fascinates me. I often wonder what is the PNG we see for the future.”
Tom Deko, Musicians, 2010. Recycled metal. 2916/1.
Tom Deko was born in Makia village in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He began carving in wood after observing carvers from the Sepik River. He later experimented in stone during a residency in Zimbabwe but it was with metal that he found his true mode of expression. Gathering materials from scrapyards, he cuts, shapes, beats, hammers, and welds discards into sculptures in which the mysteries of the ancient and the mythical compete and combine with the commonplace material of urban waste to produce eccentric, and at the same time vibrant, art forms that celebrate and thrive on a Papua New Guinean view of the world. His work has been shown internationally and can be found in collections in Germany, New Caledonia, and Canada. Currently he serves as artist-in-residence at the University of Goroka.
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CATHY KATA & BEPI PIUS PAPAU NEW GUINEA
“There’s a song in my language that captures the meaning of the bilum. It describes a young girl going down to the riverbank and asking the spirits of the land to help her find the right kind of fibre. With their help, she finds it, then takes it home, prepares it, and begins to weave a bilum. When it’s finished, she’s ready to start a new life. She gets married with the bilum, and it carries her children. She weaves new ones for different purposes, like carrying food from the garden to feed her family. Most of the patterns I use are traditional, though I’ve made some myself. Some come from mountains or special trees; others come from things I’ve seen. This is one of my largest bilums. I made it with Bepi Pius, another bilum maker, and I have incorporated materials from all around my country. The fibres are traditional, and the snack-pack wrappers, well…” Cathy Kata was born in 1966 in Pakin Village in the Nebliyer region of Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. Her tribal group is Kapia Ulgu; her language, Timbuka. She lives and works in Goroka. Cathy has been a professional bilum (string bag) maker since 2003. While bilums are traditional accoutrements in many parts of PNG, Cathy and her colleagues are taking the form in new directions with a wide range of bilum styles, accessories, and derivations, using new and traditional materials. Cathy has been an artist-in-residence at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and has won numerous awards for her work.
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Cathy Kata, Mbu Walg Kupun – Large Bilum. Recycled coffee-sack fibre, possum jaws, chicken feathers, tapa cloth, shells, boar tusks, food wrappers, natural dyes. 2805/1.
ERIC NATUIOVI VANUATU
“This piece of pottery represents the three tribes of a Futunese traditional governing system. The pot itself represents the island of Futuna and its people. The wooden extensions tipped with pig tusks symbolize the three tribes – Namruke, Kawiameta and Fana – with Fana being the tallest of the extensions. The Namruke tribe is humble and does things quietly and speaks in parables. They will promise to supply one or two pigs expected for a ceremony but will bring ten or twelve. The Kawiameta tribe is referred to as proud and talks in an exaggerated manner. They will promise to supply ten pigs for a ceremony but will actually bring less. The Fana tribe is known as the peace maker and stands between the other two to settle differences when they challenge, confront and compete against each other, especially in traditional ceremonies.”
Eric Natuiovi, Ariki – Futunese Tribal Governing System, 2003. Clay, wood, pig tusks. 2832/1.
Eric Natuoivi was born in Matangi Village on the island of Futuna, and is a ceramic artist and the principal of Vanuatu Teachers College. He learnt the art of pottery during his studies at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, because it was a part of his culture that was dying out. Natuoivi works on the issue of gender equity and traditions of Vanuatu as kastom. He incorporates wood and pig tusks as symbols of value and family in his sculptural art forms and has exhibited his ceramics in Port Vila, the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in New Caledonia, and he represented Vanuatu in the 2nd Asia-Pacific Triennial at the Queensland Art Gallery. In 2008 Eric served as artist-in-residence at the Australian National University and the University of Wollongong.
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SHIGEYUKI KIHARA SAMOA/AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND)
Three performance videos by Kihara were screened in Paradise Lost ?: Siva in Motion (2012), Galu Afi: Waves of Fire (2012), and an earlier work entitled Taualuga: The Last Dance (2006), which featured Shigeyuki Kihara performing a Samoan ‘taualuga’ dance while appearing as her alterego, Salome, dressed in a Victorian mourning dress. This work was inspired by a 19th-century photograph entitled “Samoan Half-caste,” taken by New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew. The choreographic movements informed by the ‘taualuga’ – a stately dance technique of the Samoan taupou or the high-born ceremonial village maiden – function for Kihara as an evocation to the ancestors, while re-telling experiences of the recent 2009 tsunami disaster in Samoa as well as the effects of climate change in the Pacific region.
on colonialism, European representations of Indigenous peoples, gender, globalization, sexual minorities in the Pacific, and tourism. Through her work she seeks to stimulate dialogue about understanding the complexities of humanity. Kihara has exhibited widely, is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Paramount Award of the 21st Annual Wallace Arts Award, New Zealand’s most prestigious art prize for Galu Afi: Waves of Fire (2012).
Of Japanese and Samoan heritage, Shigeyuki Kihara is a performance artist and freelance curator currently based in Auckland, New Zealand. She works with photography, dance performance, video installations, and interactive community performances to comment Shigeyuki Kihara, Galu Afi: Waves of Fire, 2012. Silent performance video/single channel. Duration 4 min 59 sec. Courtesy of Shigeyuki Kihara Studio, Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand, and the Wallace Arts Trust New Zealand.
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GREG SEMU
SAMOA/AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND) “From birth, the question of origin and identity has puzzled me. “Growing up as a first-generation immigrant in a monocultural, colonized New Zealand, the dogma of monotheism and the residue of my Pacific heritage have created polarization for me, both internally and externally. My familiarity with Christian indoctrination, and my fascination with the ecclesiastical art that punctuated the pages of our family bible, have permeated my photography practice and contaminate my perception of self. Displacement is a conversation that flows strongly through my work, particularly the impact of Western religion on Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Islands. “This body of work was created at the Tjibaou Centre in New Caledonia. Indigenous community engagement is a priority in my process of art making. Local Kanak people participated and performed in this conversation about religious colonization and the subsequent abandonment of traditional ways: a juxtaposition of cannibalistic
ancestral rituals and the symbolic metaphor of the covenant of Christ. Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper is accompanied by my re-interpretations of other iconic Christian images in Western art: Enguerrand Quarton’s La Pietà de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Michelangelo Caravaggio’s The Beheading of John the Baptist.” Greg Semu was born and raised in New Zealand. Self taught in the art of photography and film. Nomadic wanderer of the world since his early 20s in search of adventure, fame, fortune, love, and ultimately the discovery of self. His works are collected in various museums around the world such as in France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Taiwan. The theme that runs strongly through his work is cultural displacement, colonial impact on Indigenous cultures, particularly Pacific Islands, and religious Christian iconography's mutation of tribal and socalled primitive icons.
Greg Semu, La Pièta de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, 2010. Digital print on PVC canvas, lightbox. Courtesy of the Artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.
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LIST OF WORKS David Ambong, Vanuatu Land Disputing in Port Vila, 2010 acrylic on canvas 3005/1 Tom Deko, Papua New Guinea Musicians, 2010 recycled metal 2916/1 Pax Jakupa, Papua New Guinea Mama Kakuruk – Mother Hen, 2012 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Sursab – Flute, 2008 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Mumu – Traditional way of Preparing and Cooking Food, 2012 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Wokim Banis – Building a Fence, 2012 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Paitim Kundu – Beating the Drum, 2008 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Gecko – Green, 2008 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Gecko – Blue, 2008 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist Moses Jobo, Erromango, Vanuatu Melanesie, 2000 acrylic on canvas MOA collection Cathy Kata (designer), Bepi Pius (maker), Papua New Guinea Mbu Walg Kupun – Large Bilum recycled coffee-sack fibre, possum jaws, chicken feathers, tapa cloth, shells, boar tusks, food wrappers, natural dyes 2805/1
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu The Melanesia Project, 2006 acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist
Shigeyuki Kihara, Samoa/Aotearoa (New Zealand) Taualuga: The Last Dance, 2006 Performance video/single channel Duration: 6 min Courtesy of Shigeyuki Kihara Studio, Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand
Greg Semu, Samoa/Aotearoa (New Zealand) The Last Cannibal Supper, cause tomorrow we become Christians, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Galu Afi: Waves of Fire, 2012 Silent performance video/single channel Duration: 4 min 58 sec Courtesy of Shigeyuki Kihara Studio, Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand, and the Wallace Arts Trust New Zealand Paramount Award at the 21st Annual Wallace Arts Awards, New Zealand
Apostles 1, 2, 3, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Siva in Motion, 2012 Medium: Silent performance video/single channel Duration: 8 min 14 sec Commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery New Zealand Courtesy of Shigeyuki Kihara Studio, Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand, and the Auckland Art Gallery New Zealand Te Rongo Kirkwood, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Te Kaahu O Hinekoorako – The Morning of Life, 2012 muka/flax fibre, kiln-formed cold-worked glass, copper wire, kereru feathers Courtesy of the artist Whakatupuranga – The Midday of Life, 2012 kiln-formed cold-worked glass, flax fibre, cotton cord Courtesy of the artist
Apostles 4, 5, 6, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Apostles 7, 8, 9, 2010 Digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Apostles 10, 11, 12, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Assassination of Atai, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia La Pièta de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, 2010 digital print on PVC canvas, light box Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Te Kaahu Pokere – The Evening of Life, 2012 kiln-formed cold-worked glass, silk cord, ruru and tui feathers Courtesy of the artist
Michael Timbin, Papua New Guinea Pasinawi and Pasindawa, 2007 kwila wood, shells, bush fibre, human hair, natural pigments 2716/12
Eric Natuiovi, Vanuatu Ariki – Futunese Tribal Governing System, 2003 clay, wood, pig tusks 2832/1 George Nuku, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Waharoa/Portal: Te Ao Marama – The World of Light, 2013 plexiglass, acrylic, abalone shell, feathers, cording Courtesy of the artist
Acknowledgements Paradise Lost ? Contemporary Works from the Pacific is the result of a collaboration between MOA and Satellite Gallery and was made possible by the generous support of Canada Council for the Arts, Creative New Zealand and the Christensen Fund. UBC Museum of Anthropology 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 604.822.5087 www.moa.ubc.ca Satellite Gallery 560 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3H6 604.681.8425 www.satellitegallery.ca
Paradise Lost ? Contemporary Works from the Pacific Carol E. Mayer (author and exhibit curator) Catalogue to accompany an exhibition held at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC., from July 24 2013 – September 30, 2013 and at Satellite Gallery, Vancouver, BC., from July 24 – August 31, 2013. Copyright © Museum of Anthropology, 2013 Museum Note: 42 ISBN 978-0-88865-130-3
Photo credits (front cover, from left to right, top to bottom). George Nuku, Tom Deko, Cathy Kata, Moses Jobo – MOA; Rosanna Raymond – Courtesy of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge; Michael Timbin – MOA; Greg Semu, Ralph Regenvanu – Courtesy of the artists; Eric Natuiovi – MOA; Pax Jakupa, Te Rongo Kirkwood, Shigeyuki Kihara – Courtesy of the artists.