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

96 №1 NEIGHBOUR STRONG WOMEN 105 Skirt 1996 was carefully constructed by the late Wendi Choulai for a Roroipe mourning dance performance for ‘The Second Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT2, 1996). Using traditional knotting techniques, Choulai brought together long strands of sago palm fibre — used for the stunning ceremonial skirts created by clans from around Port Moresby — together with raffia and assorted plastics to create this piece. The Roroipe dance is usually performed by the Motu Koita people of Central Province to mark the beginning of Guma Roho, or the ‘taking off of the black of mourning’. The ritual Roroipe that Choulai and her besena (clan) performed for APT2 enabled a belated culmination of three years of mourning for her bubu (grandmother), Agnus Daihani Solien, who died in the late 1970s. To this point, the family had not danced the Roroipe for Agnus, and so some 20 years later, Choulai called on her family to join her in this special ritual. In Choulai’s words: ‘A common saying of my besena (clan) is “Aina asi a mavaru Kavamu”, which translates as “We don’t dance silly dances” or “We don’t dance for no meaning”’. 1 Choulai’s decision to perform the Roroipe with her family as part of an international contemporary art exhibition was very conscious. For Choulai, the Gallery could only be a space of significance if it accommodated ritual and the ‘relationships, friendships, recollections, memories and participation’ intrinsic to this expression of her Papuan culture. 2 As well as a ritual for a beloved family member, Choulai’s Roroipe enabled the expression of her Papuan identity to a wider audience. Completing a degree in art and textile design at the National Arts School in Port Moresby, Choulai consistently sought opportunities to work outside a traditional sphere of expression. She found inspiration in the movement between the culture of her people and the worlds of textile design and other contemporary artistic expressions. Worn by Motu Koita and other Central Province women, the grass skirt is multi-layered and, when worn to mavaru (dance), conveys a sense of dynamism and change. Choulai returned to the grass skirt repeatedly as it provided a strong visual metaphor for the changing nature of her own experience. Working WENDI CHOULAI: LAYERS OF MEANING RUTH M c DOUGALL WENDI CHOULAI 105 Skirt 1996 PP.94–5 JULIA MAGE’AU GRAY Young hands (detail) 2015 Image courtesy: The artist