11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Members of the Haus Yuriyal collective, Jiwaka, Papua New Guinea 2023 / Photograph: Digine Dickson The drive along the winding, double-lane highway between Goroka and the Wahgi Valley in Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands offers fleeting glimpses of roadside market stalls built on the top of steep cliffs, and men whipper-snippering the tall kunai grass growing on the roadside verge. In the background, deep blue mountain peaks pierce the horizon. In the busy streets of Kundiawa town — made famous by painter Mathias Kauage (1944– 2003) — artist Yuriyal Bridgeman points to two summits in the far distance, and says, ‘Ples blo mi pela’ [our place]. 1 Born in Redcliffe and educated at the Queensland College of Art, in Brisbane, Bridgeman has for over a decade been travelling ‘home’ to visit his maternal family. During this time, he has developed strong relationships with kin, and with a group of young men living and working in Jiwaka, in the Wahgi Valley, where many members of his family and tribe also reside. Jiwaka is located an hour from Kundiawa, and an even longer distance from Bridgeman’s tribespeople’s homelands in the mountains. Bridgeman’s adopted sister, Alison Wel, shares that their tribal village is the last in the region to have sealed roads, so other villagers often refer to Yuri tribal lands as ‘backpage’. Known for walking the long distance between their mountain home and Kundiawa with big white bags of produce, members of the Yuri tribe are called ‘white horses’. The village’s distance from trading markets and employment and educational opportunities has helped influence Bridgeman’s mother Veronica Gikope and other Yuri family members’ decisions to resettle on land amongst relatives already living in Jiwaka. On my visit to Jiwaka, in July 2023, I observed that many members of the Yuri extended family are living on and around Bridgeman’s large, verdant block of land. The artist’s cousin, AiI Yopa and his wife, Julie Yopa, care for the flourishing garden and Hausman (men’s house). Getting out of our truck at the front gate to the property, Gikope and I are met by a group of five men. Flashes of brilliant red and yellow, and stark black and white plumes slice through the warm air in an extraordinary array of feathered headdresses. Around them, the voices of another 15 men and their families reverberate with the resonant beating of kundu drums. Holding my hand tight, Gikope is in tears as they give the war cry and we are welcomed to the Hausman. Our welcoming party includes not only the Yuri of Simbu Province, but also the papa graun (local landowning Jiwaka men) — who wear the long apron and red-and-white face paint of their tribe — and representatives from the Enga and Southern Highlands provinces. Each of these men, who range in age from HAUS YURIYAL ESTABLISHED2015, PAPUANEWGUINEA ISAIIAHBEPI TONY JACKSON SIMBIL KEN JOHNLAIF FELIXMICHAEL JASONTAIMEL KONDI KANEM TRIBE MAIBOI KAMUNG KONDI KANEM + YURI ALAIKU TRIBES ENOCKARON PHILIPAI MATTHEW MENDI REGION HOLE REMON WABAG YURIYAL BRIDGEMAN VERONICAGIKOPE YURI TRIBE, AUSTRALIA/PAPUA NEWGUINEA DIGINEDICKSON PETERDII PHILIPKAUPA STEVENKAUPA MOSESKIRUA SIMAMOTE MONDOMUNUM PAULNULAI PHILIP KALE PHILIP ROWEL TALA YUANTALA YUWANIS TALA MUNUMTOLPARI ALISONWEL AIL YOPA YURI TRIBE TOYAMOMAL TOLPARI KERIKANE CLAN, YURI TRIBE LIVE+WORK IN JIWAKA+ SIMBUPROVINCES, PAPUANEWGUINEA 25 to 40, is here to make art. Bridgeman stands quietly to one side and urges them forward, one by one, encouraging them to tell their stories. As we listen, we make our way to the Hausman. Built by Bridgeman’s late cousin Uncle Moses Mote Kirua and several current group members, the Hausman occupies the centre of the land. It is round — a symbol of a traditional house in this area — and clad with woven pit-pit (cane) blinds. Timber sourced from the nearby forest supports the cone-shaped roof of hair- like kunai grass. Men’s shoes are scattered haphazardly around the entrance, which is flanked by two carved tree ferns painted to appear as sentry-like figures called Bopa. Once invited inside, we are greeted by a hushed quiet. The Haus is cool and dark and light streams in through a window opposite the door. Varnished pit-pit blinds cover the floor and feel both smooth and textured underfoot. With the assistance of Haus Yuriyal’s extended family, Mote Kirua led the construction of the roundhouse for Bridgeman to live in, wanting to support his cousin to spend more time with family ‘back home’ — in culture. In return, Bridgeman shared his love for painting and sculpture, as well as a keen interest to learn more about the art of the Yuri. This led to Bridgeman involving his family and friends in the creation of new work — the earliest of which were dynamic performances of mock fights that directly referenced the ethnographic films of Highlands warriors engaged in the ‘theatre’ of war. 2 Bridgeman’s house quickly became a meeting place for extended family members of the Yuri, as well as local custodial landowners, who wished to learn about their culture and escape outside conflicts. Of particular interest was the kuman (fighting shields), which had been crafted by Yuri men for generations, including Bridgeman’s maternal grandfather, Muka Gelua. Writing about this early period of the Haus, Bridgeman has shared: I first consulted with Mori Kaupa, senior community member and Yuri man, about working on a kuman project in the house with a number of cousins and uncles. At our first meeting he had gathered about thirty participants. We spoke about shield designs ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 102 — 103