The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) Catalogue

The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 170 Projects Nawurapu Wunungmurra Macassan pot 2016 Ceramic with earth pigments and polyvinyl acetate / 40 x 43cm (diam.) / Courtesy: Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala For hundreds of years, Macassan traders/fishers of south Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Yolngu of north-eastern Arnhem Land (Marege) conducted economic and cultural exchanges based on the Macassan trade in trepang with China, until South Australian Government intervention in 1906 banned the interaction. The Yolngu/Macassan Project responds to growing interest in this history of Macassans' peaceful and productive coexistence with the Yolngu during their months-long visits to Marege. Some intrepid Yolngu even travelled to Indonesia on sailboats. The project encourages and renews social and cultural ties between the groups, and reaffirms the legacy of the contact, which is alive still in shared language, customary rituals, sacred imagery, daily life and embodied in the works on display in APT10. Included are a Yolngu-crafted Macassan sail, bark paintings with Macassan references and a large collection of ceramic pots made in Macassar and painted by Yolngu in Marege. Yogyakarta-based Macassan performance and visual artist Abdi Karya was a key figure in liaising with Macassan artisans, facilitating the making of age-old ceramic forms and sails and contributing culturally and aesthetically to the content and look of the display. In his essay which follows, Will Stubbs, Coordinator of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre and longstanding member of Yirrkala community, offers unique insights into the contemporary lived experience of the centuries of contact between Yolngu and Macassan people, embodied in the antique pottery shards left behind by Macassans to tell their story. Diane Moon Yolngu/Macassan Project Co-curators: Abdi Karya and Diane Moon Artists: John Bulunbulun, Ganalbingu people, 1946–2010, Australia; Nalkuma Burarrwanga, Gumatj, born 1973, Australia; DIE2TIE Studio Artisans, Indonesia; Gunybi Ganambarr, Ngaymil people, born 1973, Australia; Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr, Datiwuy people, born 1959, Australia; Abdi Karya, born 1982, Indonesia; Dr B Marika AO, Rirratjingu people, 1954–2021, Australia; Dhuwarrwarr Marika, Rirratjingu people, born c.1945, Australia; Barayuwa Mununggurr, Djapu people, born 1980, Australia; Djakapurra Munyarryun, Wangurri people, born 1973, Australia; Margaret Rarru, Liyagawumirr people, born 1940, Australia; West Sulawesi Artisans, Indonesia; Ms M Wirrpanda, Dhudi/Djapu people, 1947–2021, Australia; Djirrirra Wunungmurra, Dhalwangu/Narrkala people, born 1968, Australia; Nawurapu Wunungmurra, Dhalwangu people, Australia 1952–2018 As far as I know, there is almost no other culture in the world that is so large, so strong and deep, in retaining knowledge of the Indonesian heritage that has been passed down from generation to generation outside the Indonesian entity itself, other than that of the Yolngu. Abdi Karya Karoroq/Gharuru (Macassan perahu sail) in progress