11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

NOTES 1 Justine E Hausheer, ‘Headhunters, poaching and arson: Community conservation in the Arnavons’, Cool Green Science: Stories of The Nature Conservancy , 31 May 2016, <blog. nature.org/2016/05/31/headhunters-poaching-arson-community- conservation-in-the-arnavon-islands/>, viewed May 2024. 2 Still working for The Nature Conservancy and KAWAKI, Robyn James is now Director, Gender and Equity, Asia Pacific. 3 The Women’s Wealth project focused on ideas of women’s wealth across the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and involved women from nearby provinces in the Solomon Islands, with whom Southern and Central Bougainville communities maintain cultural and familial ties. 4 The Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of family and sexual violence in the world with 64 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 having reported physical and/or sexual abuse by a partner; see Mikaela A Ming, Molly G Stewart, Rose E Tiller, Rebecca G Rice, Louise E Crowley, and Nicola J Williams, ‘Domestic violence in the Solomon Islands’, Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care , no.5, January 2016, <journals. lww.com/jfmpc/fulltext/2016/05010/domestic_violence_in_the_ solomon_islands.4.aspx>, viewed May 2024. 5 Jeremy Gwao, ‘Telling stories through short films’, Solomon Times , 8 January 2021, <solomontimes.com/news/telling-stories- through-short-films/10553>, viewed May 2024. 6 ‘The dream’, Dreamcast Theatre , <dreamcastsolomons.com/ about-1>, viewed May 2024. 7 The recording team comprised Gillian Oti, Ivan Utahenua, Kris Mana, Willard West, Philipa McKay, Madlyn Ero and Peter Gardner. Georgianna were in the midst of staging the third instalment of the Native Lens Film Festival, which they founded in 2019. It was at this festival that I met their supporter and friend, Neil Nuia, co-founder and Creative Director of Dreamcast Theatre. 5 Dreamcast originated in the wake of civil unrest in Honiara in 2006 — a group of young people met under the Tuvaruhu community mango trees to rehearse plays they had written about the issues they faced. By 2019, Dreamcast had grown and secured a lease for a building in Honiara with the aim to turn the old theatre space into an arts hub. Since that time, Dreamcast has renovated the building, and it is now a magical space for young people to meet, collaborate and perform. Full of energy and enthusiasm, the members of Dreamcast believe: ‘through art, [we] can open people’s hearts and minds and ignite their imagination, sparking inspiration for a happy, healthy, sustainable future’. 6 For the Triennial, four Dreamcast members — Gillian Oti, Willard West, Ivan Utahenua and Kris Mana — travelled, supported by QAGOMA’s Oceania Women’s Fund, to the three communities of Katupika, Wagina and Kia in late 2023. They were accompanied by Peter Gardner, QAGOMA’s Cinema Technical Coordinator, and members of The Nature Conservancy, some of whom have been working with the Arnarvon women since the founding of KAWAKI. 7 The strong relationships enjoyed by members of The Nature Conservancy and KAWAKI — especially between Madlyn Ero, from The Nature Conservancy, and Dilly Maezama, Lavinia Denson and Mone Rimon from KAWAKI — enabled Dreamcast and the wider team to quickly establish the rapport necessary to support the important task of recording the women’s songs and stories. Over several months, KAWAKI and Dreamcast worked collaboratively to devise an immersive audiovisual environment for their Triennial presentation, including an opening weekend performance, written and directed by Dreamcast’s Gillian Oti. Titled Kuza Ni Tege , the installation takes its inspiration in part from the storyline Oti has created in collaboration with the KAWAKI women. Kuza Ni Tege focuses on three natural resources that are vital to the communities’ distinctive cultural practices — kuza, the bark of the leko tree; ni, the coconut tree; and tege, the journey of the hawksbill sea turtle. In Katupika, the once abundant leko tree is today scarce as the result of both legal and illegal logging practices. When it can be found, Choiseul women harvest kuza to create strong string and ropes that are knotted into bags and dance costumes, as well as harnesses to carry timber and other materials home from their gardens in the bush. ‘Ni’ is the name in Wagina for the coconut tree, of which every part — leaves, sap and wood — is used by the community for food, wine, customary clothing, housing, and even the protection of their island coastline from erosion. The title of a Kia song, ‘tege’ describes the journey of the hawksbill sea turtle to the Arnarvon Islands. It is sung by women in Kia as a way of honouring and protecting this vitally important animal, as well as the ocean and island habitats that the women share with these creatures. Imagine, then, sitting on a woven pandanus mat in a space filled with the unique sounds of these women singing. We hear the chanting of a group of women as they travel great distances through mountainous terrain in search of the kuza tree. We hear the knocking sound of coconut palm leaves slapping together, followed by the harmonies of the coconut dance song. We hear the striking together of women’s hands as they move in sharp, bird‑like movements to the beat of a drum. We also hear the magical sounds of the Kia women singing a cappella, which connects the voices of all three groups to protect the Arnarvon Islands and the surrounding, life-giving ocean. In addition to this wonderful soundtrack, three monitors present short films that invite visitors to the Triennial to appreciate the cultural practices and beliefs that define these communities. There is footage of fibres being prepared; pieces of soft, white inner bark being stripped and rolled in long hanks across warm knees. Deft hands quickly fold pliable green leaves under and over into fragrant headdresses and garments. Footprints in the sand lead to lines of shells washed up on the beach by the tides, with the white and spotted ones collected in woven baskets for stringing into long lei-like necklaces worn for dancing. Small children climb tall trees, and turtles swim just under the surface of the ocean, their heads and shells creating circular ripples in the sun-dappled waters. But, for now, imagine sitting on a woven pandanus mat surrounded by the magnificent sounds of the women of Katupika, Wagina and Kia singing Kuza Ni Tege — these sounds and songs will resonate long after the Asia Pacific Triennial has closed its doors. RUTHMcDOUGALL (left) Wagina artists creating tetai from coconut leaves, Wagina 2023; (right) Kia artists in traditional dress being filmed for Kuza Ni Tege , Kia 2023 / Photographs: Peter Gardner ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 122 — 123