2021, 392 pages, Jean-Philippe Beaulieu, Primedia, Bornival, Belgium.
Review by Noelle Rathmell-Stiels
This superb book has been six years in the making, but it is well worth the wait. In it, Jean-Philippe Beaulieu presents a catalogue raisonné of all the known New Ireland Uli ancestor statues, extant and lost – 231 examples in all; most of them lavishly illustrated. Detailed entries provide all the known information on provenance along with stylistic notes and other particulars. Text chapters delve into the history of New Ireland, the German presence there in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as what little is known about the Uli rituals. Biographical detail is presented about the various “Uli hunters” – anthropologists, missionaries and adventurers, most of them German, who acquired the examples that are now so treasured in Western collections.
This scholarly, yet highly readable book is the fruit of the author’s detailed background research on provenance, learning from period sources in archives, and finally, from 2002, travelling to New Ireland itself to find the degree to which malagan traditional cultures are still alive. This was all achieved in the spare time from his day job as an internationally renowned astrophysics professor.
The volume is divided into eight chapters, the last one of which analyses the impact of Ulis upon the European art scene of the early twentieth century, particularly that of the surrealists, as well as in the later twentieth century and up to the present day. The bibliography of eight pages (containing some difficult-to-access material such as PhDs) is a treasure trove for researchers and the general public alike.
The visuals and lay-out are outstanding, as one would expect from the expert team of editors and publishers of the Tribal Art Magazine, whose tremendous support, creative and financial, the author acknowledges.
The hardcover edition is €350 (AU$520). There is also a signed, limited edition of 100 copies with a slipcase for €450. OAS members can order the volume postage-free from the publishers, Primedia, in Brussels. To order please contact: [email protected]. The book is not available in Australia, but a preview can be inspected at:
www.issuu.com/tribalartmagazine/docs/uli.powerfulancestorsfromthepacific_preview