No.1 Neighbour: Art in Papua New Guinea 1956-2016

119 MAKING MEN №1 NEIGHBOUR In the Highlands in tumbuna (ancestor) times, each fighter would design their own shield and only they could use it. The shield would identify him. The reason I became interested in shields was not only because my ‘Bubu’ (grandfather, Muka Gelua-Alai) was a fighter and I felt that it was my birthright, I wanted to creatively explore the design as form and colour, and as an individual mark of a person. I have been playing around with design and colour combinations, and I have asked my cousins at home to do the same. I asked them to think about their own shields, because, like me, the newer generations have not been taught how to do that. Down here [in Australia], I have been bending shield designs into wallpaper and wheelbarrow shields. I started the wheelbarrow shields and 44-gallon drum works a few years ago. Up in PNG, a lot of shields made in the past few decades have been made from car parts and tin, as well as 44-gallon drums. Using tin saves time, but also protects you better from bullets — the weapon of choice these days. I felt like playing around with this, making something that I could use as my own shield. The wheelbarrow shields are influenced by labour culture and the stuff you see around worksites. Growing up in Australia, my house was like a worksite with my Dad’s stuff. As a kid, he inspired me a lot with the stuff he collected and had from work. A wheelbarrow makes the perfect portable shield: it is light, multi-functional and, with careful deliberation, the right amount of bilas (design/costume) can dazzle an unassuming adversary. My set of wheelbarrow shields, Kuman Pawa 2016 has been made as a memorial for the dead, as well as for living relatives, using designs and techniques acquired through my bloodline. ERIC BRIDGEMAN Kuman Pawa 2016 Image courtesy: The artist