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

19 INTRODUCTION №1 NEIGHBOUR In March 2012, Eastern Highlands artist Simon Gende, faced with a blank rectangle of canvas, chose to adorn the surface with the silhouette of male and female figures wearing spectacular headdresses, engaged in battle against a blood-red sky. Carrying shields emblazoned with the Australian flag, the figures were identified in the work’s inscribed title, Leadership tussle in Australia RUD V GILLARD 27.2.2012 , as vanquished Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (2007–10) and his Prime Ministerial successor Julia Gillard (2010–13). The painting humorously documents the second of three leadership battles between Rudd and Gillard: Rudd’s 2010 resignation from the role of elected Prime Minister to allow Gillard to take office unopposed; his abortive 2012 attempt to wrest back the leadership; and a final contest, just prior to the 2013 federal election, in which Rudd won back the Prime Ministership only to be defeated at the polls. In Gende’s painting, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the winner of this second stouche, stands somewhat defensively, feathers bristling, in front of the big house. With its peculiarly Papua New Guinean honesty and humour, Gende’s painting may be confronting for an Australian audience, who, often at the expense of their Pacific neighbours, prides itself on the sophistication of their parliamentary democracy. What is particularly striking about this work, though, is that it articulates the high level of knowledge and engagement that Papua New Guineans have with Australia and its contemporary history. Painted at a time when Sir Michael Somare and Peter O’Neill, Papua New Guinea’s former and current prime ministers, were themselves locked in a leadership battle, 1 the work speaks eloquently of the legacy that the Westminster system of governance, bequeathed by Australia, has in its former protectorate. 2 Gende’s painting also expresses a desire to engage Australians, through a reflection of shared and parallel histories, challenges and aspirations, in a conversation about the future. How many Australians, though, possess the knowledge to adequately respond? Journalist Sean Dorney recently reflected on Papua New Guinea’s 40th anniversary of independence, observing: SIMON GENDE Leadership tussle in Australia: Rudd v Gillard 2012