Beyond the Future: Papers from the Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

object where the object is al lowed to permeate the person . Identity in this way is about a social process and at the same time an individually-felt experience. It is the experience which then articulates any sense of a social identity. To take this l ine into the earl ier point, it is not about me giving meaning to the object (whatever that may be) but more about my sense of meaning with and through the object. I might add that this is a precarious process, but let me tell you it is a pleasurable one because it is real. Allow me to recount to you a small incident. I was teacher on an island in PNG. On the island is a monument commemorating James Chalmers. He was a Methodist missionary who worked with the people in the region . On one occasion Chalmers went to a neighbouring island and while he was in the thatched house that served as the church was surrounded and killed by the villagers. The story is that the villagers then cooked and ate the body of Chalmers. The colonial government, learning of this, sent in the pol ice to sort out the villagers in no uncertain terms. Today the memorial is visited by many people. It was during that time when I was teach ing on the island that a group of missionaries came to see the memorial . I led them to the site and briefly recounted the story of the death of Chalmers. There was some murmuring and shifting of feet and then one of the visitors commented and asked me: 'That was a terrible way of l ife, don't you think? It is good that your people have become civilised . ' I paused and thought about this for a moment and then responded : 'Ummm . Yes, well at least they had a taste of religion .' Delectable! I'd say. You see although PNG cultures were makers of objects, those objects were rendered through a process of performance and experience. It was through the performance that the objects developed a sense of connection within the ind ividual and then that experience became part of collective social community. We may not share the same system of knowledge nor the same bel ief system . When we want to render something as meaningful we use those systems. Unfortunately I think we l imit ourselves to the possibil ities of pleasurable experiences . We need to open the doors of our existence, of our being and consciousness, to allow a momentary sh ift with in our 'selfs'. This may sound l ike escapism of the easiest sort. But when you see the objects from a location such as PNG the creative processes of adaptation and transformation in using objects and material from various sources are visible. But the experience of juxtaposing, choosing , discarding, manipulating, and real ising according t o the ind igenous context was not about making objects for their own sake. The final object was not the goal. The experience was as much a part of the whole sense of making it. Therefore when I see PNG I do not necessarily see it in the object. The occasion and the celebratory sense of the APT with all its diverse collection and showcasing renders for me the sense of being PNGean . My PNGness emerges when I sense all the other works and in amongst them are the objects, colours and shapes. So really identity is a momentary exposure. When we th ink about the third APT and the 'Shrines for the next m illennium' project it really is a call for you to drop the cultural baggage and to allow yourself, to give yourself, the time and space, to sense for yourself. It is only by doing that that you will begin to sense and experience being, wh ich is really a delectable process. Each of the 'Shrines' asks you to physically go into something, to do something, to change your sense of being in the space of an art gallery so that you can realise some kernel of yourself. These 'Shrines' include Cargoes by Lawrence Purtang and the dancers from New Ireland Province; Tulana mahu (Shrine to abundance) from Tahiono Arts Collective, N iue; La maison des segregations (The house of segregations) from Norman Song, New Caledonia; Le respect du sang (Respect for blood) from Paula Boi, New Caledon ia; Bilong ol meri by Ruth Sari and Aketauka Sori Mama Group from Goroka; The essence of unity by Daniel Waswas, Papua New Gu inea; Povi tau vaga (The challenge) by Michel Tuffery from New Zealand and Kava ceremony by Patrice Kaikilekofe from New Caledon ia. Because when you see the 'Shrines' and the material objects that are here at the APT they are really the embodiment of ind igenous individuals and communities and their sense and experience of wanting to be in a celebratory event called the Th ird Asia-Pacific Trienn ial . And 97