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

28 №1 NEIGHBOUR INTRODUCTION 1 Leading up the 2012 federal election in Papua New Guinea, the nation’s founding father and elected Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare became embroiled in a bitter legal and political battle over his removal from office while in Singapore on extended medical treatment. As his elected replacement, Peter O’Neill retrospectively drafted legislation authorising the decision, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the change was unconstitutional and compensation was paid to Somare. Nevertheless, O’Neill retained office. 2 Papua New Guinea has a Westminster democratic system with a single chamber modelled on the Australian House of Representatives. Of the 111 seats, only a small minority are urban. See ‘About our parliament’, National Parliament of Papua New Guinea , <http://www.parliament.gov.pg/ about/parliament>, viewed May 2016. 3 Sean Dorney, The Embarrassed Colonialist: A Lowy Institute Paper , Penguin, Melbourne, 2016, p.3. 4 The colony of Queensland attempted to annex the southern half of New Guinea on behalf of the British Empire as early as 1883. Australia took control of British New Guinea in 1906, and the name was changed to Papua under the Papua Act 1905 (proclaimed 1906). German New Guinea was seized at the outbreak of World War One. Australia won a League of Nations Mandate to administer the territory of New Guinea in 1921. The Territory of Papua New Guinea, officially created in 1949, was administered by Australia under United Nation’s trusteeship, originating in 1945 when Australia assumed joint civil administration of the separate territories of Papua and New Guinea, following military administration during World War Two. In 1971, it became a territory of Australia and its name changed to Papua New Guinea as part of the move towards full independence, which occurred in 1975. See ‘Independence of Papua New Guinea, 1975: Fact sheet 261’, National Archives of Australia , <http://www. naa.gov.au/collection/fact -sheets/fs261. aspx>, viewed April 2016. 5 In 1933, Jim Taylor led an explorative patrol, which included brothers Dan and Mick Leahy, into the previously unexplored Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. With fellow Australian patrol officers John Black and Pat Walsh, he also led a group of some 250 native carriers and police on the epic 1938 Hagen–Sepik exploration. The goal of this journey was to make ‘first contact’ with the inhabitants of the area. 6 Jim Taylor married Yerima (Taylor) from the Eastern Highlands and settled in Goroka where the couple had two daughters and adopted a son. One of their daughters, Dame Meg Taylor, a lawyer, went on to become Ambassador of Papua New Guinea to the United States, Mexico and Canada (1989–94). Meg Taylor retraced the steps of her father’s 1938 Hagen– Sepik journey in the documentary My Father, My Country 1989, which is being screened in the resource lounge adjacent to the exhibition. 7 Lynda Thomas, ‘Volcano’, Kovave: The Journal of New Guinea Literature , vol.2, no.2, June 1971, p.29. 8 Kabu’s aspirations were initially successful in shipping and selling sago to the Motu people in Port Moresby. However, this success aroused hostility within the Australian administration and his cooperative’s initiatives were halted. 9 In 1969, John Kaputin, together with Oscar Tammur, launched the Mataungan Association, which sought to split from multiracial councils and Australian rule so the Tolai could run their own affairs using the ancient Tubuan society as a model. 10 See Eric Tlozek, ‘PNG police shoot students during anti-government protest’, ABC News , 10 June 2016, <http://www.abc.net . au/news/2016-06-08/shooting-on-papua- new-guinea-university-campus/7489416>, viewed June 2016. 11 Dorney, pp.67–71. 12 A distinctive Melanesian identity, articulated culturally, was highlighted by Papua New Guinea’s early leaders as a cornerstone of a united Papua New Guinea. The Cultural Development program assisted by Australia through a Cultural Development grant was the result of high-level conversations between Chief Minister Michael Somare and the then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The program established the major institutions of the National Cultural Council, National Museum and Art Gallery, National Arts School and the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies. 13 Vincent Eri’s novel The Crocodile 1970, Rabbie Namaliu’s stageplays The Good Woman of Konnedobu and Kannibal Tours 1972, Sir Albert Kiki’s autobiography (with Ulli Beier) Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime: A New Guinea Autobiography 1968, and Bernard Narokobi’s political philosophy The Melanesian Way 1980 are just some examples. 14 Students from the dance and drama company at the National Arts School toured to the United Kingdom, Nigeria, New Zealand, Australia and Tahiti; artists Mathias Kaugage and Jakupa Ako presented work in exhibitions in Australia and Europe; David Lasisi studied in the United States and John Kasaipwalova in Australia. Joe Nalo, Martin Morububuna and Ruki Fame all exhibited extensively overseas from this period. 15 Annual shows presenting sing-sing (performance) and culture were initiated in Goroka and Mount Hagen in the mid 1950s. These shows were further developed following independence to highlight the richness of culture across the country. Today, annual shows are held in Goroka, Mount Hagen, Milne Bay, East New Britain and Madang. 16 Regis Stella, ‘PNG in the new millennium: Some troubled homecomings’, in David Kavanamur, Charles Yala and Quinton Clements (eds), Building a Nation in Papua New Guinea: Views of the Post-Independence Generation , Pandanus Books, Canberra, 2003, p.13. 17 Eric Kline Silverman, ‘Cannibalizing, commodifying or creating culture? Power and art in Sepik River tourism’, in Victoria S Lockwood (ed.), Globalization and Culture Change in the Pacific Islands , Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004, pp.339–57. 18 Dr Carol Mayer, A fragile balance: Contemporary arts, cultural integrity and environmental change on the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, Paper presented to Papua New Guinea Pacific Arts Association Conference, Auckland War Memorial Museum, 16 March 2016. 19 The gift of three early Kauage drawings by Lilian Bosch in 1972 was enhanced in 2008 by the gift, from Cameron McTavish, of a suite of prints produced by artists from the Laloki Mental Hospital in the 1960s. A program of acquisitions, which commenced in the lead up to APT7, has continued with further gifts of works by Helen and Paul Dennett, Ross Searle, Nancy Atkin, Rick Hogg, Ray Hughes, Ann Nash, and Natacha and Carole Murphy. 20 Nicholas Thomas, ‘Introduction’, in Nicholas Thomas and Peter Brunt (eds), Art in Oceania: A New History , Thames and Hudson, London, 2012, p.12. 21 For APT7, the dynamic ceiling of the Kwoma koromb was installed flipped up on the wall like pages of an open book; the poles that would usually support the ceiling were installed standing in front. This method of display was discussed in very early conversations with the artists and villagers, and permissions were given to the artists to explore ‘modern’ ways of talking about their sacred building. 22 Trips were made by Gallery staff to Apengai and Tongwinjamb in July and November 2011. The three Abelam and seven Kwoma artists spent eight weeks in Brisbane (January – March 2012), as well as two weeks later the same year (November – December) at the time of the opening of APT7. 23 The first eight-week trip the artists made to Brisbane provided a direct line of contact to Gallery staff, enabling them to communicate their aspirations and concerns for their works. The Abelam artists, for example, very quickly informed staff that they wanted to use a vivid, fire-engine red, rather than the more muted ochre based on the ground paints used in the village. 24 For a full list of participants, please refer to the list of works in this volume, pp.126–33. 25 ‘Artist statement’, Taloi Havini , <http://www. taloihavini.com/about/ >, viewed April 2016. Installation view of Alex Gabuor Ule and Neo ( Male and female fish ) 2011 and Coastal Arapesh Sar ( headdresses ) 2011, APT7, GOMA, November 2012 / Photograph: Mark Sherwood