The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

Micheline Neporon is a self-taught artist, deeply attached to the themes and values of traditional Kanak art. Until recently, in Kanak society (as in many other indigenous Pacific societies) men dominated the production of ritual art, clan emblems and the embellishment of objects. For a woman to find her own way to become an artist, and an identifiably Kanak artist, is a significant individual achievement; at the same time it reflects the adaptability of Kanak society, which is becoming increasingly urbanised, educated and aware of popular culture and global issues through the media. Micheline began her artistic career in the early 1980s with drawing, preferring Indian ink on paper for her lively sketches and exhibiting successfully in Noumea and Paris. She was increasingly drawn to the medium of engraved bamboo, intrigued by the nineteenth-century pieces in the New Caledonia Museum. Micheline decided to rediscover the tools and techniques used to make engraved bamboo and adapted her own style, initially recreating scenes of everyday life in the Kanak milieu. The inscription of Kanak life on bamboo was originally done by men, but the genre was no longer used and there was therefore no taboo or prohibition against her taking it up. Although the technique limits the artist to simple figures, Micheline endeavours to create scenes of perpetual movement and vivacity to signify the dynamism of Kanak society. Micheline has experimented with other materials, such as gouache, acrylics and pastels and admires the work of other Kanak artists who successfully use these materials in their own creative expression. In the future she wishes to pursue her exploration of engraving bamboo, elaborating the themes and subjects she incises into the surfaces, as well as the manner and context of presenting the work. Micheline's installation for the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial exemplifies how the artist has continued to explore and develop the medium of engraved bamboo. Several engraved bamboos bundled together may have the function of bearing a long narrative, like a set of scrolls.The tapa (bark cloth made from beaten bark of the banyan tree ficus sp.) and liana vine Micheline uses to tie her bundle with were traditionally used for wrapping important objects for ceremonial presentations. Fine white tapa headbands, armbands and penis sheaths, made from paper mulberry broussonetia papyferia, are worn by men on ceremonial occasions. It is the significance of tying things with tapa Micheline recognises here: to attract attention to her engraved bamboos, which are made important objects by being wrapped in tapa, and to rediscover the uses of tapa, as she has previously done with Left Detail, Untitled 1993 Engraved bamboo Collection: Centre Culture! Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Noum~a engraved bamboos. Micheline has significantly increased the grandeur of her bamboos and, with this installation, makes an elaborate presentation to us, symbolising the knowledge, strength and cohesion of Kanak society today. Emmanuel Kasarherou, Cultural Director of the Agence de D~veloppement de laCultureKanak, Noum~a. New Caledonia Right Detail, Untitled 1993 Engraved bamboo Collection: CentreCulture! Jean-Marie Tjibaou,Noum~a A RT I s T s : PA c I FI c I 119