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

PACIFIC PEOPLES: PAPUA NEW GUINEA, NEW CALEDONIA, VANUATU, TORRES STRAIT ISLANDS AND INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA Rene Boutin is an installation artist. His work is informed by the cultural issues which face contemporary society, particularly in the context of New Caledonia, a territory of France. The dry foetus is an installation involving a variety of symbolic elements, including eight ancient whale bones, and reflects Boutin's longstanding engagement with themes of cultural exclusion and artificial notions of ethnicity. As the artist has stated , 'the role of cultural institutions and the contemporary artist is not to put up barriers but to build bridges'. The work is a strong statement on the resistance of specific societies to cultural sharing and exchange. The whale bones have absorbed black oil from a special tray. The process of 'blackening' has been deliberately interrupted , suggesting that it is time for cultural institutions to stop and reassess their role in contemporary society. Wendi Choulai , who is currently completing a Masters degree in Textile Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, presented the performance Egu Rami based on the traditional mourning ritual of Roiroipe. The artist explains: My own participation with this custom occurred with the death of my Grandmother Agnus (Daihanai) Solien in 1 976. What unfolded as the news of her death spread was a layering of ritual and customs that lasted for almost three years. We did not dance the Roiroipe at my Grandmother's Guma Roho [end of mourning period] and so I have "called" her Besena [clan] to do this with me at the Queensland Art Gallery, placing two ski rts that I have designed in juxtaposition with ritual dance. I n her work the artist combines elements from her tribal culture with Western and contemporary concepts, and expresses the continual development of contemporary life and art in Papua New Guinea. The performance was organised and completed according to the ritual protocol , including fasting and exchange of presents. This event had particular significance in Brisbane which has the largest PNG population outside the country. 28