The Ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

183 ARTISTS Top: Elizabeth Watsi Saman preparing Sinsu at the Women’s Wealth workshop, Nazareth Rehabilitation Centre, Chabai, Bougainville, September 2017 / Photograph: Ruth McDougall Below: Helen Dusimoi Miriona's materials and Biruko at the Women’s Wealth workshop / Photograph: Taloi Havini women's wealth Women’s Wealth is a project highlighting the importance of women’s voices in the predominantly matrilineal societies of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the nearby provinces of the Solomon Islands. At the heart of the project is a belief in the capacity of art to both engage diverse audiences in new understandings, and contribute to sustainable and socially cohesive communities. Focusing on vibrant cultural practices, such as weaving, pottery and body adornment, Women’s Wealth celebrates the ways in which indigenous women create forms of great aesthetic and cultural significance, assert continuing connections to people and place, and transfer knowledge and maintain livelihoods, as well as affirm a sense of collective agency and authority. As part of this project, Bougainville women were reconnected with artists from the nearby Solomon Islands, with whom they share strong linguistic and cultural ties, but who are divided by political boundaries. A small, predominantly Indigenous, group of artists from Australia working in similar media were also invited to participate in the project. To launch Women’s Wealth, a group of 19 women from across these three regions came together for a ten-day workshop in September 2017. 1 As a result of this workshop, the artists produced a range of different artworks for APT9. Many artists asked members of their community to authorise the creation of specific cultural forms and to assist in finishing works for the exhibition. Large groups of fan-shaped Biruko and elegant Tuhu hoods from central and north Bougainville are central to the display. Constructed from pandanus leaves and, in some instances, marked with black-and-red embroidered designs indicating the elevated status of the owner, the elegant Tuhu hoods are arranged, almost conversationally, in clan groups. 2 These unique sculptural forms are created by women in north Bougainville to be worn as protective coverings in public ceremonies relating to death, matrimony and the investiture of clan chiefs. The most ornately decorated hoods, known as A’Poa can only be worn by the clan’s Queen or chiefs; however, unmarked Tulbus are worn by all women during grieving ceremonies, and by clan women without this status during life-affirming ceremonies (coming of age and betrothal). Tulbus further fulfil multiple functions within and outside ceremony, and are used as mats, food coverings, and as shelter from the rain and sun. Similarly versatile, the delicate fan-shaped Biruko from Kieta are carried by women to eloquently animate ceremonial dances in central Bougainville. Geometric designs embroidered along the upper lip in natural fibres, and more recently in brightly coloured wool, enhance the visual effect of the Biruko as it moves through the air. Made from the leaves of the black palm, these objects symbolise womanhood and can be carried only after a young woman has completed the seclusion that accompanies her first menstruation. The Biruko is then used extensively as a fan, knapsack, sleeping mat, lap-lap, baby carrier, as a container or serving dish for food, and for shelter, in addition to its use in ceremony. The surrounding walls of the APT9 display are adorned with a range of beaded and woven works from the north-eastern Nukumanu Islands, together with groups of south Bougainville stitched mats, beaded ornamentation and woven bags, as well as long plinths presenting a range of unique basketry. Ideas of support and unity have underpinned the development of this project, and are highlighted through the display of textiles and pottery by participating artists from Choiseul Province and Australia. Habitat 2018, a new multichannel video work by Taloi Havini, explores the history of foreign economic interests in Bougainville and the effects of this interest on the everyday life and wellbeing of its 250 000 inhabitants. Women’s Wealth is inspired by the traditional female custodians of the land, and offers a vision for the future that is grounded in a shared sense of cultural resilience and pride. Ruth McDougall Endnotes 1 In the display for APT9, the works are complemented by video documentaries about the workshop by Jesmaine Sakoi Gano (Bougainville) and Georgianna Lepping (Solomon Islands). Workshop participants included: Bougainville: Kiria Asike, Jesmaine Sakoi Gano, Aida Pais, Elizabeth Marata, Elizabeth Saman, Adelaide Aniona, Helen Miriona, Pauline Anis, Emma Markusu, Josephine Kepaku and Sister Theresita Alona; Solomon Islands: Joy Madada, Gwendalyn Dumosoe, Imelda Teqae, Georgianna Lepping; Australia: Taloi Havini, Elisa Carmichael, Janet Fieldhouse and Kay Lawrence. 2 Individual names are given to each of the Tuhu forms, according to the wearer and the design.