11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

NOTES 1 Oecussi was the first part of the island of Timor in which the Portuguese established themselves in approximately 1556. Its people speak Meto, a variety of which is also spoken in West Timor, which remains under Indonesian governance. 2 In Oecussi, there are also two types of Uma Lulik: those in the mountains are Ume Suba; while those located in coastal areas are known as Ume Haltuna. In other regions, the houses are also varied in form and title. 3 Janak Rogers, ‘The heart of East Timor’, Earshot podcast, ABC Listen , 28 May 2015, <www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/ lulik-east-timor/6476164>, viewed July 2024. Mariano Lafu lives in the coastal enclave of Timor‑Leste’s Oecussi-Ambeno, which exists as a geographic outpost within the larger expanse of West Timor. 1 Although its customary practices, such as tais weaving and woodcarving, display distinct variations from those in other areas of the region, the Oecussi people share a deep-rooted faith in Timor-Leste’s traditional ancestral belief system, Lulik. Despite Portuguese colonisation and the brutal Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, Lulik remains central as a set of sacred rules and regulations that guide relationships between people and nature, ancestors and the cosmos, and defines moral standards, principles of indigenous stewardship of the land and other core values. Uma Lulik (sacred houses), once scattered across Timor-Leste, embody this belief and are at the heart of Timorese culture. 2 Built from wood and raised on stilts, Uma Lulik have thatched, conical roofs, often adorned with a stylised carving representing a buffalo horn and pigeons (uma kakulan). In Oecussi the dwellings are a place for spirits, they have no windows; great attention, however, is given to the carvings that decorate the doors to these sacred spaces. The Uma Lulik are themselves a type of portal, symbolising an opening between past and present, the dead and living, the people and the land. Journalist and broadcaster Janak Rogers explains: ‘For those alive, it is a secured reservoir of past memory and wisdom; for the dead, it is a timeless place, where history is constantly renewed’. 3 During Indonesian occupation, many Uma Lulik were burnt or destroyed. When Timor-Leste gained its independence as a nation, rebuilding the houses became a project of national importance. Because the structures are constructed communally, bringing people together, their rebuilding provided a means of healing in the wake of the violence and oppression suffered during the occupation. Their repairing indicates that people’s connections to land, community and customs are also being restored. The social enterprise Things and Stories (established by Joao Ferro and Maité Monnereau) has in recent years begun working directly with carvers in Oecussi and Atauro, with the aim of reviving and cultivating community appreciation of Timorese art and culture for a new generation. Their support has empowered artists like Mariano Lafu, who would usually have to focus on subsistence and survival, to innovate and experiment. The group of ornately carved doors shown in the Asia Pacific Triennial — not actual doors from the ancestral houses, whose removal is forbidden — are adorned with ancestor spirits and animals with totemic significance. They are coated with a special mixture of honey water and soot (from the chimney of the Uma Lulik) that gives them a black, ashen surface. Along with a group of ancestors, such as Liurai (rulers), and human and animal spirits, these figures were created by Lafu to highlight the extraordinary skill and knowledge that the Uma Lulik continue to foster. Timor-Leste is one of the youngest nations in the world, but this presentation of Lulik carvings by Lafu is a reminder of the strength and ongoing relevance of its ancient and deep-rooted beliefs, and the great skill of its people. ABIGAIL BERNAL MELBANAPEOPLE, BAIKENU LANGUAGEGROUP BORN 1948, PASSABE, OECUSSI- AMBENO, TIMOR-LESTE LIVES +WORKS IN PASSABE, TIMOR-LESTE WITHASSISTANTS DOMINGOS LAFU MELBANA PEOPLE, BAIKENU LANGUAGE GROUP BORN 1994, TIMOR-LESTE AGUSKLAEN MELBANA PEOPLE, BAIKENU LANGUAGE GROUP TIMOR-LESTE MARIANOLAFU Uma kakulun ( Roof carving ) 2024 / Teak wood (Ai teka) with traditional black painting / 10 x 35.5cm / Commissioned for APT11 / Purchased 2024 with funds from Ashby Utting Foundation through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 130 — 131