The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia, 1996 : Report

One of the most significant aspects of the Second Triennial was the i nvolvement of a large number of artists from the Pacific, including eleven artists from Aotearoa I New Zealand. The artists are from Maori, Pakeha, Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds and present their work as part of two collectives: the men's waka and the women's waka. The concept of the waka ('vessel' in Maori) is often used in Aotearoa/New Zealand to illustrate the country's cultural diversity; in the Second Triennial, it is also used as a metaphor for the histories, voyages and migrations of the Aotearoa/New Zealand and Polynesian peoples. The men's waka included works transported to the Gallery from Aotearoa/New Zealand. The women created on site installations, physically completing the collective work and conceptually activating the journeys of the waka. Chris Booth's large-scale installation Pumice from the mountains reflects the history of Aotearoa/New Zealand's ancient land and culture. Bronwynne Cornish's on site installation with clay and potatoes, entitled My grandmother was bom on a boat, refers to her own family's migration and history. Brett Graham's two large wooden sculptures, Kahukura and Te kohao o te ngira, refer to aspects of Maori culture . J udy Millar claimed the shoreline on the edges of the Watermall with a border of black and white rice. Ani O'Neill's palm fronds woven around the Gallery's internal columns enriched the wakas with a Polynesian perspective. John Pule's installation of nine wall pieces, video projections and performance commented on the eroticisation of Polynesia by Western cultures. Lisa Reihana's light projections of Maori imagery around the art works within the collectives reinforce the concept of the waka as a symbolic vessel which unifies different cultures, narratives and histories. Peter Robinson's model plane and painting on the theme of 3. 1 25% refer to national perceptions of cultural inheritance, ethnicity and identity. Marie Shannon's series of black and white photographs overlay intimate text with images of the ocean. Yuk King Tan site-specific piece incorporated thunder bomb firecrackers to rei nterpret ideas about celebratory events in Chinese culture, in a Pacific context. Ben Webb's two recent paintings, Untitled (children in waterfall) and National geographic, allude to water as an important element in the lives of Pacific peoples. 27