Paperskin: barkcloth across the Pacific - Queensland Art Gallery

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ested with Queensland, and these links continued after Federation until Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975. The associations continue with trade and family connections between Papua New Guinea and Torres strait islanders, the introduction of south sea islander labour to the Queensland sugar industry, and the new wave of Pacific islanders coming to Queensland today. These historical accounts can each be demonstrated through the Queensland Museum’s collection. Tapa, ngatu, kapa, masi, lepau and siapo are names used for barkcloth across the Pacific. each place and people has its own unique story for barkcloth. some are made by women, others by men, some for cloth and some for masks, some are for everyday and others are for special ceremonies. each piece comes with its own unique story that has instruction on how it is to be made, how it is to worn, who is to wear it and the power that it holds in the ceremony, in dance or as a gift. For this exhibition, the Museum has focused on barkcloth from Melanesia, and the selected objects come from Papua New Guinea and the solomon islands. A major strength in the Queensland Museum collection is the comprehensive Papuan ethnographic material, collected by sir William Macgregor in the later decades of the nineteenth century. Macgregor had a background in medicine with scientific and humanitarian interests and he collected this material during his travels in Papua. in keeping with this vision that this collection would be kept in trust for the Papuan people, the Queensland Museum repatriated objects back to the Papua New Guinea National Museum between 1983 and 1995, and it was agreed that the Queensland Museum would keep a percentage of it. 1 The Macgregor Collection now totals 5627 objects. Not only aesthetically pleasing, these barkcloths also tell us stories about people. in Papua New Guinea, everyday tapa can include loincloths, wrap around skirts and cloaks. some groups decorate tapa with painted patterns, as the pieces in this exhibition show, while some attach beads and shells. Worn for ceremonies and rituals, Oro (or Northern) Province is one of the most well-known tapa-producing areas of Papua New Guinea. 2 Dance object unknown Papua New Guinea Orokolo, Gulf Province Barkcloth, dye, cane / 28 x 205 x 75.5cm / Collected by S.G. MacDonell, 1913 / Collection: Queensland Museum The barkcloth from Collingwood bay, Papua New Guinea, was collected by Macgregor and entered the Queensland Museum’s collections in 1897. The designs in the Papua New Guinea tapas are somewhat abstract and free-flowing, similar to those in Vanuatu and in contrast with those from santa Cruz and other Polynesian locations. Not much is known about use and manufacture of barkcloth (lepau) in santa Cruz. The barkcloth from santa Cruz came into the Queensland Museum’s collections in March 1899. These cloths are known to be worn by men in an apron-styled fashion, and they have been photographed being worn by important men like a tall cylinder around the top of the head. There was an absence of tapa-making between 1930 and 1970 in santa Cruz. 3 restrictions on practice; political, technical or environmental changes; the movement of people; or a change of interest: these can all contribute to such absences. however, everybody has the culture within them, and museum collections can help to trigger memories of, emotions about, and connections between, people and place. This is happening around the world for indigenous cultures, where people are strongly tied to place. The masks included in ‘Paperskin’ are deeply enmeshed in the spirit world of the people who made them. For those who believe in these spirits, the masks hold strong powers and are respected as part of that world. The eharo masks represent bush spirits, look like little bush animals and are used during ceremonies called Hevehe. used to interact with the spirit world, sometimes in a humorous way, and in a time before Christianity, 4 the size and diversity of these masks, sometimes decorated with feathers and hornbills, reflect the diverse Papua New Guinean cultures. The two-headed crocodile was used in eharo ceremonies, but there is little information regarding its use or representation. Collected between 1912 and 1914 in the Gulf Province, this beautiful work is made of barkcloth wrapped around a cane frame. 5 More research is required on this piece, but one day, someone somewhere will be reminded 34 35
y this crocodile barkcloth of their connection to people, spirit and place, and they will be reignited. This is why it is important for Museum collections to be made accessible to communities through visits, repatriation and exhibitions. Pacific barkcloth comes in many forms, shapes and sizes, has many meanings, and plays an important part in maintaining the connections between people and place. Collections like the one held in Queensland Museum maintain a connection between people and place. They connect the people who create these works, and the movement that continues between Pacific countries and Australia. barkcloth is a beautiful aesthetic way to show that Pacific people have a presence in Queensland’s history and will continue to have a presence into the future. Imelda Miller is Assistant Curator, Torres strait islander and Pacific indigenous studies, Queensland Museum. eNDNOTes 1 Patricia Mather, A Time for a Museum: The History of the Queensland Museum 1862–1986, Queensland Museum, brisbane, 1986, pp.202–4. 2 roger Neich and Mick Pendergrast, Pacific Tapa, David bateman, Auckland Museum, Auckland, 1997, p.133. 36 3 Neich and Pendergrast, p.125. 4 robert l Welsch, Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art and Society in Papuan Gulf of New Guinea [exhibition catalogue], Nils Nadeau (ed.), hood Museum of Art, hanover, New hampshire, 2006, pp.23-9. 5 Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Queensland Museum, brisbane, vol.2, 1913, pp.9–23. ABOVE Mask unknown Papua New Guinea Chachet Baining people, East New Britain Province Barkcloth, dye, cane / 90 x 52 x 74cm / Collection: Queensland Museum OPPOSITE FROM TOP Woman from Wanigela, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. Photograph taken by Percy J. Money c.1900 / Collection: Queensland Museum Barkcloth (detail) unknown Papua New Guinea Collingwood Bay, Oro Province Barkcloth, dye / 156.8 x 45cm / Collected by Sir William Macgregor, 1897 / Collection: Queensland Museum 37
Page 1 and 2: 2 Paperskin Barkcloth across the Pa
Page 3 and 4: Contents Foreword 6 Tony ellwood /
Page 5 and 6: Preface Nicholas Thomas since the e
Page 7 and 8: information in barkcloth designs is
Page 9 and 10: for the four-metre-high, three-pron
Page 11 and 12: ACKNOWleDGMeNT i would like to ackn
Page 13 and 14: Traffic in ideas and cultural mater
Page 15 and 16: in New Zealand, people share a rang
Page 17: 32 Marsang Papua New Guinea, b.1918
Page 21 and 22: 40 Nerry Keme Papua New Guinea b.19
Page 23 and 24: Barkcloth 19th century Papua New Gu
Page 25 and 26: Barkcloth unknown Papua New Guinea
Page 27 and 28: Lepau 19th century Ihilland Solomon
Page 29 and 30: Barkcloth 19th century Papua New Gu
Page 31 and 32: 60 Stella Upia Papua New Guinea b.1
Page 33 and 34: 64 Siapo mamanu c.1905 Samoa Barkcl
Page 35 and 36: Mask unknown Papua New Guinea Oroko
Page 37 and 38: List of works 1 Dating of works in
Page 39 and 40: Selected bibliography Bonnemaison,
Page 41: Authors Maud Page Maud Page took up

Paperskin: barkcloth across the Pacific - Queensland Art Gallery

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