The Sixth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

39 The archipelago of Vanuatu has been contested by Western countries and markets for over a century. It was governed by a British–French condominium from 1906 until its independence in 1980, and has therefore been far from isolated, having to variously adapt and resist. Under international pressure, Vanuatu began to redress its tax haven status in 2008. The influx of foreign money has brought with it many changes, primarily in Port Vila and the island of Efate, with the selling of land for beef farming and tourism. These industries demand a certain level of labour to sustain them and, when combined with a lack of opportunity outside of subsistence practices, have caused an influx of people from the outer islands to Port Vila. For example, most of the population of the small island of Mataso, which lies off the northern tip of Efate, has relocated to Ohlen, a shantytown on the outskirts of Port Vila. It is from here, with only a few fluorescent lights overhead, that a number of young men and women have created a bold, simple and effective series of drawings (subsequently transformed into prints in Australia) as a response to their changing daily environment; their primary inspiration derived from their encounters with advertising signage promoting food, beverages and commercial products in the capital. David Kolin’s drawing of a lion, with the speech bubble text ‘Mi laekem kae kaeman’, which translates as ‘I like to eat man’, is a humorous response to the viewing of National Geographic magazines showing African fauna. Some of the artists also draw on their cultural heritage, like Herveline Lité who comes from the island of Malakula, where sand-drawing is prevalent. 11 Her vibrant blue work features a compartmentalised design comprised of rectilinear and circular motifs. In this work, Lité references a large natural rock lying four kilometres off the coast of Mataso, which is a favourite fishing location for villagers. It was also used for target practice by United States Navy personnel during World War Two and, over time, the holes in the monolithic rock face have served as nesting spots for pigeons which are hunted every spring. The soldiers’ presence on the islands is still very visible through the abandoned machinery and army barracks, and the glass Coke bottles peppering Efate’s north coast shoreline. In contrast, a more sombre, and ultimately violent, act which occurred on the Vanuatu coast in the late nineteenth century was the practice of ‘blackbirding’. Between the 1860s and early 1900s, ni-Vanuatuans (amongst other Melanesians and some Polynesians) were kidnapped to work on sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji. 12 This ‘recruitment’ preceded that of Indian indentured labour and is addressed in Teitei vou (A new garden) . Marcel (Mars Melto) Meltherorong, a prominent ni-Vanuatuan singer–songwriter, recently composed a reggae song with Georgia Corowa called ‘Slavaland’, lamenting the taking of their forefathers. The song ends with the lyric: ‘Melanesians, Polynesians and Micronesians are coming, you better be ready!’. No music seems more suited to melding storytelling with a call Kava street sign, Mataso-Ohlen, Port Vila, Vanuatu 2007 Photograph: Newell Harry Opposite Herveline Lité Vanuatu b.1980 Le pigeon de Mataso (from ‘Bebellic’ portfolio) 2007 Screenprint on magnani paper ed. 1/45 / 76 x 56cm / Purchased 2008. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery