Through new eyes, Pacific pasts revisited
This edition of the Journal continues to share the rich information received at the highly successful 2022 OAS Forum held in the Pacific Galleries at the South Australian Museum.
Stories from all OAS Journal Volumes
Representation and misrepresentation in ethnographic film: the case of Cannibal Tours[1]
by Ross Bowden The documentary Cannibal Tours, by the self-described ‘existential anarchist’ Australian film maker Dennis O’Rourke (Lutkehaus and O’Rourke 1989:435), has had a significant impact on the anthropological world since …
Art of the Torres Strait
by Neriba Gallasch My deepest respect for the Torres Strait people. Where is the Torres Strait? Who are the Torres Strait Islanders? The Torres Strait is a grouping of many, …
Acknowledgement of Cultural Objects and Ancestral Spirits at Australian Museum and Blessings of Bilas Exhibition
31 May 2023 Steven Gagau, Associate Curator of Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New Guinea, Australian Museum, Sydney and President Sydney Wantok Association Inc My name is Steven Gagau. I stand …
Launch speech | Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New GuineaLaunch speech
Dr Michael Mel, Co-curator of Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New Guinea, Australian Museum, Sydney. I am blessed to see so many of you here and so humble that you could have …
Polynesian Art — The vast world of Polynesia in a single volume
2023, 272 pages, edited by Kevin Conru, Conru Editions, Brussels Reviewed by Crispin Howarth In June, Lempertz Art house and Auction rooms hosted a spectacular exhibition titled Polynesian Art.The exhibition was only …
Exodus by Joel Sam
Cairns Art Gallery, 7 July –22 October 2023 Review by Margaret Cassidy One of the joys of visiting Far North Queensland is to be delighted by the works of a …
Camp Paradise by Yuki Kihara
At Powerhouse Ultimo, Australia until 31 December 2023 Reviewed by Margaret Cassidy Post-impressionist French artist Paul Gauguin’s images of the Pacific are probably the most well-known of the range of …
Modern encounters with the past
Living in Sydney we are in a year of magnificent Oceanic art exhibitions. It is a great time to be developing a greater understanding and hence appreciation of Oceanic art …
‘In the manner of’ – forged artefact to return of ancestral remains
by Crispin Howarth Image Caption: Shane James uses the pūkaea (horn) to signal our arrival and that we can approach the wharenui. Image courtesy Mark Tantrum. The National Gallery of Australia is now into …
Cultural Identity, Our Greatest Asset
by Lesley Wengembo Presented at the Sydney Oceanic Art Fair at the National Art School in 2021, updated in 2023 My life as an artist, the challenges I experienced in …
The Ainu “Bear-Sending” Ceremony
by Krisztina Turza The Ainu (meaning ‘human’ in their native language) are Japan’s oldest indigenous people, and they have survived and maintained their culture from the Late Palaeolithic period through …
Pop Up Art Show: Featuring Work by Grim Jordan and Lesley Wengembo
25 & 26 February at the One + 2 Artist Studio Balmain, Mansfield Street, Rozelle, NSW. Review by Rita Uechtritz & Margaret Cassidy In many ways the work of two …
The National 4: Australian Art Now exhibition
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 31 March – 9 July 2023 Image caption: Ivi, Kato Kakala (detail), 2022–23. Installation view, The National 4: Australian Art Now, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2023. ngatu (barkcloth); single-channel …
Transformation and Understanding
Developing a greater understanding and hence appreciation of Oceanic art is surely the aspiration of all readers of this Journal. The place from which each reader and viewer commences this voyage …
Tools of Intervention: Re-examining German and Papua New Guinean Art and Histories
by Lisa Hilli In late 2020, I was invited to be part of a curatorial advisory at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Led by former curator of Modern Art, Beatrice von Bormann, …
The Evolution of the Contemporary Aboriginal Art Market
by Adrian Newstead Have you ever wondered how it is that Aboriginal art became an international phenomenon with pieces selling for thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, while indigenous …
Ömie barkcloth Exhibition Opening Speech
This speech was presented by Steven Gagau at the opening of Ömie barkcloth: Pathways of nioge Exhibition, Thursday 9 February at the Chau Chak Wing Museum Today’s launch is an exciting exhibition …
Masked Histories: Turtle Shell Masks and Torres Strait Islander People
2022, 215 pages, Leah Lui-Chivizhe, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing Review by Stan Florek I opened this book with great anticipation. My interest in Torres Strait Islander culture and …
Ma’ori
2023, 352 pages, Elise Patole-Edoumba & Helene Guiot, La Geste www.gesteditions.com Review by Pierre Laffont Thanks to an alert on the Oceanic Art Society’s Facebook page, I participated in the …
Guraban: Where the Saltwater meets the Freshwater
Hurstville Museum and Gallery – 29 October 2022 to 29 January 2023 Review by Margaret Cassidy At the OAS Adelaide Forum in November 2022 keynote speaker Djon Mundine (Bandjalung) presented …
Curiosity about the Pacific
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 …
Stolen God in Museum
Page five of the News (Adelaide, SA) on Saturday 3rd March 1934 featured the headline 'Stolen God in Museum' and this account of how and when the carved figure arrived at the South Australian Museum.
David Said (1945 – 2022)
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