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

48 №1 NEIGHBOUR KASTOM Full of vitality, the carvings created by the artists living along the Sepik River are some of the most revered and widely collected artworks from Papua New Guinea. There are long lineages of well-known carving families, as men gift to sons and grandsons their knowledge and skills, such as how to find the right timbers and the best methods for bringing out a sense of form and liveliness from the dense wood of the forest. Some of the carvings bestow utilitarian objects, such as suspension hooks or the prows of canoes, with significance relating to the person for whom the carving is made. Others are created according to strict protocols for use in ritual and ceremony. Such forms are endowed with great reverence and are often given personal names. They remain, even today, central to the expression of local cosmological beliefs. Like in most parts of Papua New Guinea, the 130 years following European contact have brought significant change to the Sepik. 1 Storytelling and carving have always been used to record the history and the lives of the people of the Sepik, and the more recent changes facing these communities are reflected in the emergence of new sculptural forms. Political leaders, Christian icons and introduced animals have since been added to a repertoire of mythic and clan heroes. Created by Iatmul artists from the village of Tambanum, two carvings featured in ‘No.1 Neighbour’ reflect on experiences of European-style law enforcement and faith. Rather than replicate introduced iconography, the artists attempt to understand their subjects in a local context. Lucas Tangun’s Adam and Eve 2011, for instance, depicts both figures wearing white face paint marked with swirling clan designs worn by men and women during ceremonial events. A gourd — used locally as a container for carrying lime, as a musical instrument, and as a decorative sheath for covering the penis (also referred to as ‘Sepik trousers’) — replaces the apple from the tree of knowledge, and represents good and evil in Christian theology. Arguably, the Christian story of the first people’s struggles to make their way in the earthly realm would resonate strongly with the Iatmul, who live a subsistence lifestyle. Capturing the moment before the fruit is consumed, Tangun’s evocation highlights a moment of choice and transition. Perhaps, on closer consideration, the work also considers the local relevance of traditional laws and ways of living in contrast to the attainment of a desired and forbidden unknown. Joseph Kandimbu’s depiction of notorious local police officer in Commander Leo 2011 extends this type of reflection. Lawlessness and official corruption, caused in large part by poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth, affect the lives of many in Papua New Guinea’s urban centres, including the East Sepik’s capital of Wewak. Commander Leo stands as a kind of antihero, a reminder that greener pastures are not necessarily more fertile. Opportunities to create works for an outside market have been seized by artists like Joseph Kandimbu and Lucas Tangun all along the Sepik. While they are keen to promote greater appreciation of their culture — in order to secure a cash income to supplement their subsistence lifestyles and to explore new ideas and forms — they are also fully cognisant of what may be lost. These artists’ visions provide complex and self-reflective insights into their ever-changing world. SEPIK CARVINGS RUTH M c DOUGALL 1 The arrival of the German New Guinea Company in 1885 was the first recorded European contact for the people of the Sepik; see Sione Lātūkefu, Papua New Guinea: A Century of Colonial Impact 1884–1984 , National Research Institute and the University of Papua New Guinea, in association with the PNG Centennial Committee, Port Moresby, 1989, p.110. JOSEPH KANDIMBU Commander Leo 2011 Image courtesy: Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia