Ka ‘Ula Wena: Oceanic Red
I am fortunate to be given the catalogue to the groundbreaking exhibition Ka ‘Ula Wena: Oceanic Red, which was held from 25 May 2024 until 12 January 2025 at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
Stories from all OAS Journal Volumes
Tiki Collecting: Production, Purpose and Scale
What is tiki? This exotic word conjures vivid and iconic images. In discussing tiki, questions of production, purpose and scale emerge.
SEA Art: South East Asian Art
Ana and Antonio Casanovas have recently published this lavishly illustrated volume which is an indispensable reference companion for all those interested in the aesthetics of the material art of Southeast Asia and Oceania and in the evolution of the earliest known human cultures.
De ma peinture surgit et survit mon âme [From my painting, my soul emerges and lives on]
This exhibition’s title, which sounds as much like an urgent need for preservation as it does a victory against oblivion, has left its mark on the minds of all French lovers of contemporary art from Papua New Guinea (PNG).
BILONG PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Reflecting on 50 years of independence
BILONG PAPUA NEW GUINEA showcases the National Gallery of Australia’s impressive collection of Papua New Guinean art across diverse media – sculptures, prints, paintings, bark-cloth, and bilums.
Paradise Palette
The vibrancy, colour, cultural depth, diversity and life of Australia’s closest neighbour was on show in this exhibition of mostly self-taught artists from Papua New Guinea seen in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in late 2024.
What is Modern Art of the Pacific?
Recent months have seen Oceanic art enthusiasts gathered for two art fairs in Paris in September and Sydney in October. By all accounts, there was great enthusiasm and artworks. In …
Somuk: The First Modern Artist of the Pacific?
by Nicolas Garnier Biographies of Pacific artists usually focus on contemporary artists and artists coming from wealthy Pacific countries, especially Australia. Scholars or museum curators have devoted substantial biographies to …
Ron Perry
by Carolyn Leigh Ron (Roland Lewis) Perry grew up in Tucson, Arizona, USA during the 1930s Depression. Both his grandfathers died young. Their widows and extended families instilled an early …
Some thoughts about the Awaiama Stone Spatula
by Stéphane Duckett Stone artefacts in Oceanic Art are relatively uncommon and almost wholly limited to axe or club heads. It is perhaps not surprising that in the Massim area, …
Sun & Shadow: Art of the Spinifex People
2023, 384 pages, John Carty & Luke Scholes, Upswell Publishing. Review by Margaret Cassidy Opening this dark blue bound book launches the reader forth into the colour and patterns of …
Great Vibes at the Art Fairs
by Noëlle Rathmell-Stiels The 2024 Sydney Oceanic Art Fair at the Art Leven Gallery in Redfern was a great success thanks to a dynamic organising subcommittee under the leadership of …
From kastom objects to Pacific art
In early August we gathered for the Oceanic Art Society’s 2024 Forum at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney. This brought a rich and diverse set of presenters into one of the best contemporary museum spaces in Australia.
A Dilettante in the Humboldt Forum
by David Hourigan I have been responsible for the graphic design of each OAS Journal for many, many years. I do not collect Oceanic art (my own collecting focuses on …
Rover – From Warmun to Venice
2023, 57 pages, JD Mittman, Burrinja Review by Margaret Cassidy Warmun in the East Kimberleys is indeed a long way from Venice but both are places of great beauty and …
More Than You Might Think: Exploring Micronesian Sculpture
by Eric Kjellgren In contrast to the rich diversity of sculptural traditions in other areas of Oceania, surveys of Oceanic Art (including Kjellgren 2007 and 2014) often describe Micronesia as …
Who tells what Oceanic art stories?
A former colleague recently shared her five communications tips - question the news value; know the audience; highlight the lead; feature people, not objects; and create visual elements - which led me to thinking about this Journal.
What is the Mystery Object?
by Margaret Cassidy Last edition we heard from Timothy Pietsch, Manager, Wantok Place, North Adelaide (Museum of Papua New Guinea Artefacts) that when having their collection assessed the museum staff had …
Letter to the editor
One of the reasons the Oceanic Art Society was established was to encourage Sydney's Australian Museum to put more of its Oceanic Art collection, the largest in the world, on display. Your review of the comprehensive and empathetic book by Maia Nuku: Oceania the Shape of Time, in the latest OAS Journal, highlights stark differences in the contemporary approach to Oceanic museology and curatorship here and in the United States.
Bill Evans “A complete life”
Bill Evans had an extraordinary life as a father and grandfather; as a Tribal Art and antique rug expert, dealer and collector, and as a friend to a vast and eclectic group of people spread across the globe.
Tibuta – Kinaakiia Ainen Kiribati: Tibuta – Identifies Kiribati Women Exhibition
Bottle Creek Gallery, Pātaka art + Museum, Porirua, Aotearoa New Zealand, 7 October - 11 November 2023. Catalogue published by Te Rabakau Press, 2023.
Chief Paul Yapmunggwiyo Kongi: A Legacy of Knowledge and Artistic Excellence c.1950-2024
Chief Paul Yapmunggwiyo Kongi, clan brother, chief of Mariwai Village and a master artist of the Kwoma people from the Sepik River region in Papua New Guinea has died in the same village where he spent his life serving his community as a teacher, magistrate, and storyteller.
Tiwi Islands objects: Early Dutch Entanglements and Maarten van Delft, 1705
When I mentioned in passing that I had attended the Pacific Art Association Europe annual meeting in Chartres, France, mid December 2023, the editor of this Journal immediately asked what were the highlights
The Yalaku — History and Warfare in the Middle Sepik
2023, 222 pages, by Ross Bowden, published by Sean Kingston Publishing, Canon Pyon, Herefordshire, UK. Review by Barry Craig Vol. 28,4 of the OAS Journal featured a review by Bill Rathmell of …