This edition sees the publication of a major article by Senior Curator of Anthropology at the South Australian Museum, Philip Jones, extending his lecture at the 2022 OAS Forum held in Adelaide looking at ‘provenance’ in Aboriginal material culture in the context of shields from north-eastern Australia. This article reveals some of the extensive research undertaken by Philip as part of his contribution to one of the first detailed surveys of north-eastern Australian shields, a project led by Bill Evans with other contributions from Michael Aird and Wally Caruana.
Continuing the South Australian flavour, this edition sees the return of the ‘Mystery Artefact’ section. Timothy Pietsch, who is the Manager, Wantok Place, North Adelaide (Museum of Papua New Guinea Artefacts) is certainly hoping that someone can provide some information on this undocumented object in their collection.
Krisztina Turza shares her very subjective take on the highlights of Parcours des mondes 2023 Art Fair held in the Quartier des Beaux-Arts, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.
A review of the Fenoga Tāoga Niue I Aotearoa Niue Heritage Journey In Aotearoa exhibition at the Pātaka art + Museum, Porirua, Aotearoa New Zealand highlights the continuing practice and beauty of traditional Niue textile and material culture. This was but one of a series of Pacific and Māori exhibitions on display in this small city north of Wellington.
Including the word ‘hxstory’ to suggest a more inclusive Indigenous explanation of the past encompassing the ‘untold hxstories’, curator Erin Vink has reviewed Maia Nuku’s publication Oceania: The Shape of Time which is accompanying the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2023-24 touring exhibition The Shape of Time: Art and Ancestors of Oceania, while the new Oceania gallery in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing is being reimagined, due for completion in 2025.
Sadly, this edition also includes an obituary for Tim Klingender.
Margaret Cassidy