Promoting the understanding and appreciation of Oceanic art.
by Krisztina Turza Gender was central to this conference commencing with Yuki Kihara’s ‘Paradise Camp’, New Zealand’s offering at the 59th Venice Biennale. This focuses on Fa’afafine (Sāmoa’s third gender) utopia – where colonial heteronormativity is shattered to make way for an Indigenous worldview that’s inclusive and sensitive to the changes in the environment. But beneath the […]
by Jim Elmslie Image caption: David Said at the OAS Tribal Art Fair in Paddington. Image: Jerry Liew. Founding Newsletter editor for the Oceanic Art Society, David Said was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1945, the start of a long and interesting life enriched by his love of tribal people, their cultures and their artworks. Growing up […]
Page 5 of the News (Adelaide, South Australia) on Saturday 3rd March 1934 featured this headline ‘Stolen God in Museum’ and was accompanied by a photograph captioned ‘THE LOTUS God of the Solomon Islanders stolen 50 years ago’ (implying this happened about 1884) as well as this account of how and when the carved figure arrived at […]
Oceanic art and objects have travelled the world from the “Blue Continent”. Along the way they have been traded and stories about them have embellished their reputations and attracted new […]
Cairns Art Gallery, 8 October-11 December 2022. Review by Margaret Cassidy This comprehensive retrospective of Torres Strait Islander artist Segar Passi was an unexpected discovery on a recent visit to the Cairns Art Gallery and a wonderful exhibition of the respected Zenadth Kes artist who turns 80 this year. 2022 is also the 30th anniversary of […]
By Pierre Laffont and Bill Rathmell It is easy to fall for the peaceful charm of Rochefort and La Rochelle, two ports on the Atlantic Coast of France only a couple of hours from Paris by the fast train. The 2022 OAS Tour was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how Oceanic art […]
Leif Birger Holmstedt, Torso Publishing, 2021, 158 pages. Review by Jim Elmslie The strength of this book is in its excellent images, many previously unpublished. The images are mostly of high quality from a range of photographers: besides the author himself this book features images by Hughes Dubois; Kevin Conru; Michael Hamson; Richard Aldridge; Chris […]
George Nuku’s presentation at the Pacific Arts Association 2022 Conference Review by Pierre Laffont Main image: George Nuku. Image: KHM-Museumsverband. George Nuku has become one of the best-known Māori artists due to his creation of a large number of works in situ in various museums over the last 20 years. Since his most recent exhibition at the […]
Creators, curators, collectors, students, visitors, audiences all have encounters with cultural objects both old and new. The new can be a celebration of the old or it can be a […]
Grace Vele, a/Chief Curator Anthropology, PNG National Museum and Art Gallery The Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Museum and Art Gallery [NMAG] is a world of its own with multiple surprises on offer every time an object is held in your hands; it tells its own story. I never dreamt that I would work in […]
