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

Denise considers herself to be a contemporary Kanak artist. She did not grow up in the tribal milieu, but in the town of Yate where her father worked for the nickel mine. As part of the search for her own artistic identity, Denise has been rediscovering her Kanak culture among her extended family at Pouebo and in other tribal communities. From an early age Denise had an aptitude for drawing and painting, winning prizes at school and in open competitions. But, determining to become an artist beyond this amateur status was quite a different matter. For a Kanak woman to gain recognition for artistic achievement in an environ– ment dominated by conservative French tastes and interests, and at the same time to establish that the role of a contemporary artist is a valid and meaningful one for Kanaks, required strength of purpose and conviction. As well as establishing herself as a painter, Denise has been active in founding and leading local artists' associations, encouraging other Kanak artists and taking workshops in schools and provincial centres. She presently works half-time as Assistant Curator for the Department of Contemporary Kanak and Pacific Art at the Agence de Developpement de la Culture Kanak. (This department is currently preparing the major collection of contemporary Pacific art, due to open at the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre in May 1997.) Denise's feminist convictions are a fundamental inspiration in her life and in her art. She says that she paints in an effort to communicate these values to others, while at the same time enjoying them as her own secret garden. She is aware that the viewers' responses to her art do not necessarily correspond with what she may have intended, but that does not diminish her attempt to convey the intimate knowledge of women and their values. She has discovered that her work succeeds best with other Melanesians, because they are probably more familiar with the references she uses. For the challenge of a big event like the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial, Denise decided that she would take her work in a new direction.Two recent visits to Sydney to participate in exhibitions, including a few days work experience in April 1995 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, convinced Denise that installation was a medium she could use effectively. The cultivation of taro is significant in the life of Kanak people, as it is in other Pacific societies where it is a staple crop. For Kanaks, taro is the ultimate symbol of women, as the yam is the symbol of men. Taro must be carefully cultivated and tended, and some of the processes involved are quite arduous, so it is apparent even at a superficial level that taro signifies nurturing and the difficulty of women's work. Les Taros qui pleurent (The crying taros) 1996 are implanted with tiny microphones, playing over and over the laments of the women of the northern province of New Caledonia, between Hienghene and Pouebo, Denise's country. She has chosen two types of taro, dry taro which grows in the mountains to represent the mountain clans, and lowland water taro, representing the coastal people. In the northern coastal areas the fields of water taro are the exclusive domain of women. It is here that pottery, a knowledge and activity from which men are barred, is made. Emmanuel Kasarherou,Cultural Director of the Agence de Developpement de la Culture Kanak, Noumea, New Caledonia Les Taros qui pleurent (Thecrying taros) 1996 (detail with taros) Installationcomprising taro plants, bamboo, wooden sticks, dirt,audio component ART I s Ts • PAc I FI c I 123