Download AustrAliA, OceAniA, PeOPle Of the seA

TABA NABA
Australia, Oceania,
People of
*
the sea
From March 22nd to September 30th 2016
O ceanographic M useum of M onaco
Updated on 27 - Nov - 2015
* «Taba Naba» is a children’s song originating in the Torres Strait Islands just north of the continent of Australia. This song is
usually accompanied by a «sit-down dance» where the «dancers» perform traditional movements corresponding to the lyrics.
The song is a traditional song in Meriam Mir, the language of the Torres Strait Islanders.
The lyrics in Meriam are:
Taba naba / naba norem
Tugi penai siri / dinghy e naba we
Miko keimi / sere re naba we
Taba naba / norem
This verse is repeated three times.
Translation:
Come on let’s go to the reef
Get into the dinghy when the morning tide is low
Let us row to the edge of the reef
Come on let’s go to the reef
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SUMMARY
Preface
W hy
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Aboriginal and Oceanic
oceanographic M useum of M onaco ?
an
Organisation
art
exhibition
at
the
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of the exhibition
Australia: Defending the oceans at the heart of Aboriginal
and T orres S trait island art by S téphane J acob
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Living Waters
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by
Erica Izett
Oceania: islanders masters at navigating and artistic expression
by D idier Z anette
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Distribution
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plan artworks
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T
he Oceanographic Museum of Monaco is committed
to sharing knowledge about the oceans, raising
awareness of, and finding innovative solutions to,
the dangers that threaten them. Initiated by its founder
Prince Albert I, this approach was then carried forward
by its successive directors - chief among them Captain
Jacques-Yves Cousteau - and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of
Monaco, during his extensive travels around the world.
that is rich in symbols. In their dialogue with the modern
world, Aboriginal and Oceanic artists developed their art
to connect secular traditions and a universal aesthetic
around a message of hope that draws on their ecologically
grounded beliefs.
Using a wide variety of media (paintings, sculptures,
photographs, videos, masks, caps etc.) and materials
(wood, metal, plastics, fishing nets etc.), these works
alert us to the beauty and importance of nature, the risks
of climate change and the devastation we inflict on our
environment through overfishing and pollution. They are
an invitation to change our habits and engage with the
issues.
The Temple of the Sea has been developed to gather a
wide range of knowledge and expertise, and promote a
multidisciplinary approach to the marine environment,
in order to raise awareness among politicians, economic
stakeholders and the wider public. This mission is now
founded in two fundamental strands of action: firstly,
making accessible the treasures of the marine world
in aquariums rich in biodiversity and secondly, the
transmission of unexpected emotion in the encounter
between Art and Science, which for Prince Albert I were
«the two driving forces of civilization».
It is vital, today, that we adapt our behaviour to save
the people and ecosystems of the most exposed regions,
including island states and marine habitats of high
ecological and biological value, such as coral reefs.
For all the artists participating in this exhibition event,
the challenge is the same: the oceans, and more generally
water, must be protected.
Contemporary art is a great vehicle for drawing attention
to the dangers that threaten us. True advocates for the
preservation of marine ecosystems, art works come into
their own in all the rooms of the Oceanographic Museum,
creating a dialogue with our collections.
It is by preserving endangered oceans that we will finally
usher in a new era of shared sustainable development,
for all peoples. With the support of H.S.H. Prince Albert II,
this exhibition adds the contribution of the Principality of
Monaco to the global debate. It represents the Prince’s
energy, strength of conviction and firm determination to
change our practices.
In 2016, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco will host
an exhibition of Australian Aboriginal and Oceanic works.
Few Europeans know these ancient traditions born on
the other side of the world, an art of ritual and beauty
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T
he primary link between the Oceanographic Institute
and the Aboriginal and Pacific peoples is the
Oceanographic Institute’s message on the protection
of oceans and biodiversity. All the works in this exhibition
have a relationship with the sea, sailing and water. The
theme is most strikingly illustrated by a work called Ghost
Nets that will be displayed in the Salon d’Honneur in the
heart of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.
appropriating the nets and incorporating them in their
artistic creations. Indeed, what was to be done with these
huge nets once they had been hauled out of the water?
Were they to be burnt? Buried? The artists chose to
reuse them, first to produce bags and baskets, and then
objects of art to help raise public awareness of this new
environmental challenge. This artistic movement is now
widely recognised, as evidenced by the recent acquisitions
of objects in Ghost Nets by the British Museum and the
National Gallery of Australia. No event in France has yet
celebrated the movement.
In Australia ghost nets is the term used for fishing nets
that have been abandoned at sea. Lost accidentally
or deliberately thrown into the water, they drift from
Southeast Asia into remote regions in the far north of
Australia. They represent a terrible threat to marine
flora and fauna. Large numbers of sharks and sea turtles
(protected species) are trapped in them. An original
artistic movement has emerged in northern Australia,
in Queensland in relation to these nets. Since 2010, first
in Cape York and then on the Torres Strait Islands – an
archipelago between Papua New Guinea and Australia
– artists settled in this isolated region have been
Ghost Nets is a compelling symbol of the challenges
taken up by the Oceanographic Institute, which has, since
2013, publicised the protection of large predators such as
sharks, through a major educational exhibition, a large
public work and a series of lectures and events. In 2016,
the Oceanographic Institute will focus on the issue of sea
turtles.
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T
he project is founded in the great interest that Prince
Albert I of Monaco took in the aboriginal peoples he
encountered and artistic expressions inspired by the
sea. Through numerous acquisitions made on his travels,
the Prince gathered together at the Oceanographic
Museum everyday and precious objects he considered to
be related to ocean life.
present a synchronized document that would undoubtedly
have been one of the first «talkies» in history if these
films and reels had not been lost.
A final link with Prince Albert I is the gigantic 80 cm high
bas-relief frieze on the Institute of Human Palaeontology
building, the second Prince Albert I Foundation. The artist
Constant Roux, who won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1894,
created seventeen scenes in total, five of which are
dedicated to the «Australians» represented in different
stages of life. This again underlines the particular interest
that the Prince had for ethnology.
An avid user of new technologies, Prince Albert I also filmed
–with one of the first Gaumont cameras – and recorded with an Edison phonograph - songs and traditional dances
from Cape Verde in 1901, aboard the second Princess Alice.
His ethnological approach is said to have allowed him to
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Organisation
of the exhibition
The Oceanographic Institute
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Honorary President
Michel PETIT, President
and the members of the Board of Directors
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Robert CALCAGNO, CEO of the Oceanographic Institute
Exhibition organisation
GENERAL CURATOR
Patrick PIGUET, Director of Heritage of the Oceanographic Institute
GENERAL ASSOCIATE CURATOR
Hélène LAFONT-COUTURIER, Director of the Musée des Confluences
PARTNERSHIPS & COMMUNICATIONS
José-Luis de MENDIGUREN, Director of Development of the Oceanographic Institute
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco
Marc SORDELLO & Francis MISSANA (Antibes)
ADVISORS
Hervé IRIEN
Carl de LENCQUESAING
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“Australia: Defending the oceans at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait island art”
SENIOR CURATOR AND PROJECT MANAGER
Stéphane JACOB, Director of the ARTS D’AUSTRALIE • STEPHANE JACOB gallery (Paris)
ASSOCIATE CURATOR
Suzanne O’CONNELL, Director of the Suzanne O’CONNELL gallery (Brisbane - Australia)
“Living Waters”
SENIOR CURATOR AND PROJECT MANAGER
Dr Erica IZETT, Independent curator, Research University of Western Australia (Australia)
ASSOCIATE CURATOR
Dr Georges PETITJEAN, Curator of Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht (Netherlands)
Donna CARSTENS, Manager of Indigenous Programs, National Maritime Museum Australian (Sydney - Australia)
ACADEMIC AND ASSOCIATED CATALOGUE EDITORS
Professor Ian McLEAN and Dr Garry JONES, University of Wollongong (Australia)
“Oceania islanders: past masters in navigation and artistic expression”
SENIOR CURATOR AND PROJECT MANAGER
Didier ZANETTE, Director of DZ Galeries (Paris, Nice, Noumea)
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Australia: Defending the oceans at the heart of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait island art by Stéphane Jacob
Stéphane Jacob
Stéphane Jacob is a graduate from the Ecole du Louvre in Paris, the former
Head of Communications of the National Museum of French Monuments. He
has specialised in Australian Indigenous Art for the past 20 years.
Recognised by major European institutions, he has helped develop public
collections such as the Musée des Confluences in Lyon. Works from his gallery
can be found in the collections of the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris), Musée de
l’Homme (Paris), Musée des Abattoirs (Toulouse), Musée d’Art et d’Histoire
(Rochefort), Musée la Grange (Switzerland) and numerous significant
international private collections. He has written and published a number of
books and catalogues on Australian Indigenous Art.
Suzanne O’Connell
Suzanne O’Connell is a champion of innovative
contemporary Aboriginal artists. With a singular eye
for new talent, she has nurtured the careers of leading
talents such as Nora Wompi, Lisa Uhl, and the Girringun
Artists. Suzanne has also been instrumental in facilitating
international exhibitions and publications for significant
artists. Suzanne O’Connell Gallery is one of the foremost
galleries in Australia, presenting a dynamic exhibition
program of the highest calibre. As an art consultant
and dealer, Suzanne has assisted major collectors and
institutions source numerous masterpieces from some of
Australia’s most important artists. The Suzanne O’Connell
Gallery is a member of the Australian Commercial Gallery
Association.
T
his project entitled “Australia: Defending the Oceans at the Heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art” is curated
by Stéphane Jacob, Director of the Arts d’Australie • Stéphane Jacob Gallery (Paris), and coordinated in Australia
by Suzanne O’Connell, Director of the Suzanne O’Connell Gallery (Brisbane). The project is being supported by active
”Exhibition Angels” helping to raise funds: Joel Hakim, former President of French Australian Chamber of Commerce
(Sydney), ABIE board members: Tea Dietterich, Ceo at 2M Language Services (Brisbane, Paris, Nice), Julia King, Veronica
Comyn, Marti Georgeff, Florence Forzy (Keolys). Co-ordinating the fundraising side of the project is Michael Carr (Art
Dealer and Consultant, Sydney) & Beatrice Hedde (Paris).
A partnership with the Musée des Confluences in Lyon will allow the Museum to develop a public program for events
taking place in both Lyon and in Monaco during the exhibition, effectively extending the Exhibition’s reach and impact
throughout the south of France and Europe generally.
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T
he first exhibition will be entirely dedicated to
the creation and presentation of six monumental
contemporary installations by seventy major
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to be displayed
in six key positions in and around the Museum.
its world famous aquarium will significantly increase
the resonance and reach of this project. The partnership
developed with the Musée des des Confluences in Lyon
will further enhance the strength of the message.
The artists address these environmental issues with
humour and subtlety. The exhibition has been created as a
virtual fairy tale, a story of enchantment; the monumental
size of the work will create for visitors, a sensation of
being transported into Alice’s Underwater Wonderland.
These works are testament to one of the worst dangers
of our century, specifically the threat of pollution that
is endangering marine biodiversity and food. Indigenous
people of Australia deal with the effects of global warming
and pollution in their daily lives, in particular the «death
nets» created by macro-waste such as discarded fishing
nets and floating plastics. The Torres Strait channel
situated at the eastern tip of Australia, and the shores
of Queensland are particularly affected by this increasing
pollution. Like land mines, these nets go on killing long
after their initial use is over.
Visitors to the famous Rock of Monaco will be welcomed
by a playful group of sculptures that will dominate the
Museum’s forecourt. Behind them, three monumental mud
crabs will climb the facade as if taking over the Museum
‘King Kong’ style. Explanatory bi-lingual labels will clearly
identify the artworks and artists who created them, as
well as provide their totemic meanings. Special attention
will be given to didactic information made available for
children.
This first exhibition focuses on coastal and Islander artists
who through their work dramatically and effectively raise
awareness of the oceans as a living ecosystem.
This theatrical display, accessible to all, will welcome
500,000 visitors to the Oceanographic Museum during
the summer period, before they continue their visit inside
the building.
It is by far the most complete and ambitious project ever
undertaken on this subject by Australian Indigenous artists
in Europe. The international reputation for excellence
enjoyed by the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco and
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O
n entering the Museum, the public will be welcomed
by a magnificent sculpture of a dugong – once
thought to be the origin of the fabled mermaid –
placed at eye level, creating an immediate intimacy with
this emblematic sea creature and important totemic
figure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
instruments remind visitors of the cultural importance of
the sea for the populations of Oceania and the importance
of preserving it for the sake of current and future
generations.
This hall leads to two main exhibition spaces. To the right
an exhibition dedicated to sharks is currently on display.
To the left, the exhibition curated by Dr Erica Izett (on
behalf of Partner 2), Living Waters, will present paintings
and installations that reflect on the key importance of
water within Australian indigenous culture.
Beyond the entrance, visitors will be lead into one of
the most dramatic spaces of the Museum, the Hall of
Honour with its imposing statue of H.S.H. Albert I and the
stunning sea creature crystal chandelier hanging in the
middle of the room. Here, sculptures of turtles, sharks,
crocodiles, dugongs and a gigantic whale will swim with
a colourful school of fish against the sublime views of
the Mediterranean Sea in the background. A canoe woven
from abandoned fishing nets is a symbolic reminder of
what is destroying these sea creatures in huge numbers.
As a climax to the exhibition, the visitor is then invited
to proceed up to the Terrace that, on one side, overlooks
the city of Monaco and the grand rock formation that
surrounds the Principality, and on the other, offers a
breathtaking view over the Mediterranean sea from the
French Riviera to the coastline of Italy. Here will lie one
of the largest works ever made by an indigenous artist:
a 670 square meter sea turtle made of dozens of sea
creatures, the same that children and their parents will
have discovered in the Museum’s collections. The full body
of the turtle will be visible from the air for those flying
over the Museum. It will be the landmark of the Museum
for 2016, a year in which the Oceanographic institute’s
scientific programs will focus on the ‘Ambassador of the
Sea’: the Sea Turtle.
Visitors will then be guided to the first floor by a series
of photographs by Didier Zanette – the third partner of
this exhibition – displayed on the wall of the magisterial
staircase. As visitors reach the first floor landing they
will find the enormous, magnificent composition of
headdresses (‘Dhari’) waiting for them. The main Dhari,
over six meters high, frames the main doorway and access
to the next section of the exhibition. On either side of this
door are two Dhari (3m50) that mirror each other.
The visitor is invited to walk through to the Oceanomania
hall where an ensemble of oceanic navigational
Bon Voyage!
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In the forecourt: Bagu sculptures
O
riginally the Bagu was a sacred wooden tool used to tend fires.
Since commercial fishing, land clearing and farming practices affected waterways, water quality and traditional food
sources, preserving Girringun environs (Cardwell north Queensland) and the cultural practices of their forbears has
become an important issue for the Girringun community. In order to create artworks while preserving their environment,
Girringun artists have chosen to recycle waste found on beaches in the immediate vicinity of their community to create the
ten Bagu sculptures that will be displayed on the Museum’s Plaza and showcase the diversity and strength of Aboriginal
rainforest culture.
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On the facade: Githalai sculptures
T
hree large mud crabs created by Brian Robinson climb the facade of the Museum and will be an invitation for the
public to discover the exhibition as a whole. Brian Robinson was born in the Torres Strait Islands, located between
the tip of Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea. Githalai continues Robinson’s exploration of the tradition, motifs
and mythology of Torres Strait culture that forms the thematic basis of his bold and contemporary artwork. His work
focuses on the once abundant fauna found along the foreshore and mudflats where he lives – an expanse of coastal area
that provided sustenance to the local Indigenous communities for many centuries. Apart from being a delicious food
source, the mud crabs’ claws were also traditionally utilised as tobacco pipes. Githalai’s work references the important
interconnection of Torres Strait Islander culture, marine animals and ecological sustainability.
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Princesse-Alice Hall: Alick Tipoti’s Dugong sculpture
A
lick Tipoti’s bronze and aluminium sculpture placed at the entrance of the museum greets all who enter and enchants
those who take the time for a closer encounter. The work is representative of a dugong swimming in the moonlight.
The mammal is captured mid-pose in a position called San Tidayk, which is when it flips its tail to propel a dive down to the
sea grass beds on which it grazes. The decorative patterning on the dugong’s body represents the Torres Strait Islanders’
rich cultural knowledge of the dugongs and their habitat and also refers to the destruction of the sea grass beds caused
mainly by large vessels which force not only dugongs from their feeding grounds but also other sea creatures such as
rays, crabs and crayfish.
The people of the region have a very special relationship with the dugong. It is the totem of several clans, its oil is used
as a traditional medicine and it is an important and generous food source.
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Honour hall (ground floor): Ghost Nets Installation
E
ntitled “Ghost Nets” or “Aboriginal Art to the rescue of marine fauna in Australia”, the installation of over thirty
works has been created by three Indigenous Art Centres: Erub Arts (Torres Strait, Queensland), Pormpuraaw Art &
Culture Centre (Cape York, Queensland), Ceduna Arts and Cultural Centre SA –(represented for this project by Ghost Net
Art Project, Turmoulin, Queensland). Their installation portrays many different sea creatures often found in abandoned
fishing nets: turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, whales... Today, many marine and coastal species are threatened by
discarded nets. The threat to marine biodiversity also endangers the survival of the peoples of the sea. This is particularly
the case in the coastal regions of northern Australia. Among them the Gulf of Carpentaria is one of the last remaining safe
havens for endangered marine and coastal species, including six of the world’s seven marine turtle species, dugongs and
sawfish. Sadly these turtles make up 80 percent of the marine life found caught in the nets. Ghost net art is a great vehicle
for informing the general public of the dangerous damage that ghost nets continue to inflict on the marine environment.
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First floor landing: Dhari Ceremonial Headdresses
T
he art of Ken Thaiday adorns the red walls of the first floor landing of the Museum. Thaiday is known for his works that
incorporate the symbols of his native island, Erub (Darnley Island). His three to six meter-high sculptures represent
Dhari ritual headdresses created for ceremonial dance and evocative of traditional fish traps.
The Dhari are also representative emblems on the Torres Strait flag.
The striking art of this northern region is little known and yet extremely rich. It reveals the intimate relationship linking
the Torres Strait Islanders and their aesthetic sensibility to their maritime environment.
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Terrace (second floor): Sowlal (Turtle Mating and Nesting Season), Monumental Stencil
Floor Installation
I
n 2016, the main scientific theme to be explored by the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco is the preservation of sea
turtles. The work of Alick Tipoti falls very naturally within this theme. Tipoti is a Torres Strait Islander artist who has
earned international acclaim. His work can be found in many public collections around the world including the Musée
des Confluences in Lyon. Tipoti recently performed at the British Museum in London. The two works he proposed for
the exhibition address the theme of turtle courtship, mating and nesting. Tipoti’s main drawing forms the body of a
monumental turtle that will be visible from the air. The designs on the shell of the turtle and its background incorporate
sea animals and plant species from the Torres Strait Islands: fish, rays squids, crabs, sharks, dugong … some of which are
endangered species. Playful and instructive, this very emblematic work will certainly become one of the most popular
icons of the exhibition.
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Living Waters
by
Erica Izett
Kittey Malarvie Ngaba (water) 2014
Marc Sordello & Francis Missana
The Sordello & Missana Aboriginal art collection comprises more than one hundred paintings. It has been formed over the
last decade by two French businessmen, Marc Sordello and Francis Missana, who are based in Antibes. With an emphasis on
the range of acrylic painting produced across remote Australia, and especially the Western desert regions, the collection
is distinguished by the large number of artists represented rather than an emphasis on a few stars. In recent years the
collection has developed to include urban artists, multimedia, 3D and ochre works including bark paintings from the Top
End of Australia.
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Erica Izett
Erica Izett has a long history of engagement with Aboriginal communities and
has worked extensively in the Aboriginal art industry. She has managed and run
workshops on Aboriginal art centres, taught visual art in an academic context and
facilitated artist residencies. She has held leadership positions in the contemporary
art industry focusing on the management and exhibition of Aboriginal art collections.
Erica Izett has a doctorate on the history of the emergence of cultural exchanges
between European women and Indigenous Australians from the University of Western
Australia.
Georges Petitjean
Georges Petitjean is a Belgian art historian who studied at the Vrije Universiteit
Brussels and completed his PhD on Aboriginal art at La Trobe University
Melbourne. Since his appointment as the curator at the Aboriginal Art Museum
Utrecht (AMMU) in 2005, he has guided it from being a largely ethnographic
museum to a contemporary art museum that exhibits a full range of urban and
remote Aboriginal art including the work of Brook Andrew and Gordon Bennett.
Georges Petitjean has curated innovative exhibitions that feature transcultural
engagements between Indigenous and Western art, such as Los van Traditie:
Cobra en Aboriginal Kunst (Breaking with Tradition).
Donna Carstens
Donna Carstens, Indigenous Programs Manager for the Australian National
Maritime Museum, is responsible for the exhibitions and development of the
Indigenous collections of the Museum. Working collaboratively with communities,
artists and art centres throughout Australia, she has curated innovative
exhibitions and sourced exciting new works intertwining the traditional with
the contemporary to further highlight and explore Indigenous culture and
connection to water.
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Ray Ken Ngayuku Ngura 2013
Christian Thompson Trinity1 2014
T
he Living Waters exhibition features a stunning selection of contemporary Aboriginal paintings from the Sordello
& Messina Collection as well as works by some invited leading Australian artists that engage with the exhibition’s
transcultural themes and Indigenous waterworlds, including paintings by Aboriginal artists from the Western desert in the
private collection of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The project draws from, and is strengthened by, its partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum, the
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Buku Larrnggay Mulka, the highly acclaimed Indigenous art center at Yirrkala, The
University of Wollongong, and several well-known European and Australian private collections. The central feature of the
exhibition is a compelling site-specific installation by a collective of artists engaging with the permanent displays of the
Museum, while the iconic ceremonial objects (Ilma) of wood and colored thread, originally employed in ceremonies of
ancestral song cycles of the sea are installed overseeing the great Prince Albert I Hall. Videos and photographic works by
young and celebrated Indigenous artists engage with issues of the sacred and profane, the caretakers and trespassers of
oceanic environments, and open a window towards new contemporary art practices.
Barayuwa Munungurr
Munyuku Minytji 2015
Ruark Lewis Starshelter 2012
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Albert Ier hall (first floor)
I
n 2014 the Sordello & Missana Collection invited Erica
Izett to curate an exhibition of Aboriginal art being
planned at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco that
culminated in Living Waters. Erica Izett invited Georges
Petitjean, Curator of the Aboriginal Art Museum Utrecht
- Netherland (AAAMU), and Donna Carstens, Curator
Indigenous programs Australian National Maritime
Museum (ANMM) to assist her as curators of the project.
This ambitious project of Indigenous waterworlds
investigates the ways in which Aboriginal artists have
dealt with the central roles of water in their mythology
and recent history.
preserving and documentation of the extensive species
and mysteries of our oceanic worlds. In the vast southern
continent of Australia, Indigenous knowledge systems
likewise preserve and document the law (knowledge) of
life-sustaining waters through their art, ceremonial and
oral traditions. Issues of transculturation - the conflict and
engagement of these two cultures and their epistemologies
lie at the heart of Australian identity. Aboriginal Art is a
continuing contemporary site of Indigenous knowledge
making and transcultural engagements. The curators have
chosen works that address these issues. Donna Carstens,
utilising objects from the Australian Maritime Museum’s
collection, presents both European and Indigenous
representations of sea and water Laws, whaling and sea
vessels within the hall’s glass cabinets. Dr Izett and Dr
Petitjean have collaborated as curators of the main hall
weaving together the three themes of salt water, fresh
water and water as a vehicles of colonisation.
The Sordello & Missana Collection is a young developing
collection consisting primarily of works made in the
twenty-first century. Its main mission is to shift the
general perception of Aboriginal art in Europe from an
ethnographic to a contemporary art paradigm. The focus
of the collection is Western Desert painting, with a growing
interest in urban Aboriginal art, especially its uses of new
media. The works in the Living Waters exhibition have
been chosen for their engagement with Indigenous mythic
epistemologies of water, marine and shore life within
contemporary contexts, as well as for their commentary
on the role of the ocean in the European colonisation and
scientific exploration of the Australian island continent.
The Oceanographic Museum’s Prince Albert I hall pays
homage to the great voyages of scientific discovery
sponsored by the Prince and the European knowledgemaking traditions expressed in the collecting, cataloguing,
Michael Cook Civilised 6 2012
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Albert Ier hall (first floor)
W
orking in consultation with Buku Larrnjay Mulka,
the Yolngu Art Centre in the far north of Australia,
the curators supported the creation of new site-specific
works by a collective of artists that features Indigenous
aesthetics of camouflage and clan designs related to salt
water Dreaming stories.
peoples) Dreaming stories thus connecting with the
second theme of fresh water addressed in Western Desert
paintings from the Sordello & Missana Collection, which
include works by artists as diverse as Emily Kngwarreye
and Christian Thompson. In this way Dr Izett and Dr
Petitjean incorporate artworks that demonstrate and
explore conceptual relationships between saltwater/
freshwater, fire/water and the roles of mythic ancestral
figures such as the Rainbow Serpent and Whale within
contemporary contexts.
Living Waters presents two collective projects involving
non-Indigenous artists and Yolgnu (from eastern Arnhem
Land), both of which concern salt water stories of Blue
Mud Bay. The first engages with the Prince Albert 1 Hall’s
feature ceiling whale, where the Yolgnu artist Barayuwa
Mununggurr’s central installation at the far end of the hall
is based on his mother’s clan designs associated with the
ancestral events of the whale called Mirinyunju. The story
of the whale’s demise and its kinship with the hunters is
the basis for this sacred site and clan design. This poetics
of invisibility or buwayka is a central Yolngu aesthetic
idea. Its parallels in other contemporary Australian art
are explored in the recent work of Ruark Lewis and Imants
Tillers that use abstract rarrk-like patterning in relation
to the theme of water.
The third theme, concerning water and colonisation, is
demonstrated in the representations of voyaging and
sea vessels and in the work of several urban artists,
including Michael Cook and Judy Watson. This theme is
also evident in the various artworks that engage with
scientific aspects of colonisation, the basis of the halls’
permanent display. These include the second collective
project, that of botanical artworks by Mulkun Wirrpanda
and John Wolseley of the Blue Mud Bay environs, which
complement Carsten’s incorporation of European and
Indigenous objects in adjacent glass cabinets.
Living Waters will also include Lewis’s engagements with
Western scientific and Indigenous interpretations of
fresh water Arrernte (from central Australian Indigenous
Tracey Moffat Invocation 7 2000
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Albert Ier hall (first floor): private collection of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco
Nyarapayi Giles Warmurrungu 2014
Paddy Japaljarri Sims Warlu Jukurrpa 2008
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Oceania: past masters
in sea navigation and artistic
expression by
Didier Zanette
Didier Zanette
Didier Zanette is an expert in Oceanic and Aboriginal art at the Court of
Appeal of Noumea. Living in Caledonia since 1990, he has travelled extensively
throughout the Pacific region to enrich his collections of art and paintings.
His wanderings have given him the opportunity to engage in photography. In
2003, he left his job as a banker to concentrate on his passion for Melanesian
and Aboriginal cultures and today he runs three galleries in Paris, Nice and
Noumea.
Known for his knowledge of the field and his practical experience, Didier
Zanette has had the opportunity of working with partners committed to the
promotion of Pacific arts, such as the Tjibaou Cultural Centre (Nouméa), the
Museum of New Caledonia (Noumea), the Musée des Confluences (Lyon), the
Museum of Art and History (Rochefort), the library of the Quai Branly Museum,
etc.
Didier Zanette has published numerous works that demonstrate his
commitment to Pacific cultures: 100 Kundu papous, 100 objets de navigation
de Mélanésie, Le Bestiaire: 100 représentations, Voyage au pays des Baining
de Nouvelle-Bretagne, Tridacna Gigas: objets de prestige en Mélanésie, 100
Ustensiles de cuisine de Mélanésie, Et au milieu, entre Terres et Rêves, Papunya...,
Poétique de l’igname, Rêves de l’Eau et Rêves du Feu, Amperlatwaty, Les grands
Maîtres de la peinture aborigène, Des plats entre Hommes et Esprits. Didier
Zanette is a signatory to the Indigenous Art Code.
B
ringing the Pacific Islander vision together with those of Australian Aborigines, displaying similarities as well as
differences and entering a world where the shape of a cloud, the flight of a bird, the ripple of a wave, water, dust or the
taste of salt are reference points that are as important as the stars and the slow marriage of the moon with the horizon.
Such is the purpose of this voyage across these works of past and present.
At the heart of «Australia, Oceania, Peoples of the Sea» exhibition organised by the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco,
Didier Zanette will focus on the cultural relationships that Pacific peoples have with the sea, through a presentation of
traditional navigational objects, objects of prestige from the Solomon Islands fashioned from fossilised clam shells, a
series of Papuan portraits and a set of large-scale Baining marine animal representations, all echoing the collections
gathered by Prince Albert I during his scientific expeditions.
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Honour stairs: Portraits Photographs of Papuans
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n the ground floor of the Museum, to guide you when climbing the Salon d’Honneur staircase, Didier Zanette will
propose a series of striking portraits of men and women wearing Papuan face paint and feather ornaments and
seashell symbols of identity belonging to their clan, replicating the gestures and spirit of their ancestors for millennia.
Each journey is an opportunity for him to gather testimony and add to his impressive collection of pictures and unpublished
videos. All this documentation collected in the field is used in works and exhibitions, contributing to the spread of Pacific
cultures and a better knowledge of these geographically marginalised populations that nevertheless have conserved
great cultural richness.
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First floor landing: Melanesian pirogues
On the way to the Salon on the first floor canoes will be
positioned either side of the landing.
F
or millennia, humankind was content to explore the
vast expanses of land that made up the continents
for which they were genetically adapted.
Their conquest of new territories ran into the endless
vastness of the oceans, natural barriers that seemed
unfathomable, unpredictable and insurmountable. But
one day, deciding to push back the land, they took on
the ocean elements with determination, courage and
bravery, a keen sense of observation and in ever more
solid craft.
Domination of the oceans has occupied a very important place in the evolution of humankind and led to the inhabitation
of Oceania. Around 2500 BC, the Austronesians, humanity’s first great sailors, began a hazardous journey, from Indonesia
to Melanesia, and from the shores of New Guinea and beyond to the Pacific Islands. The inhabitation of these regions
would be spread over 1500 years. Thus, well before European sailors, who had long been content to confine themselves to
coastal navigation, the Pacific peoples travelled thousands of kilometers across the ocean.
The inventiveness and ingenuity of the Pacific peoples were not limited to their ability to make the most of their
environment. They were also skilled manufacturers of transportation, able to manufacture boats that were at once
spacious, solid, stable and swift. The quality of craft and the innovative multiple hulls, used primarily in the Pacific,
surprised the first Westerners on their arrival; this obvious mastery of sailing technology, in contrast to the myth of the
«noble savage» had never before been used in Europe, single hulls being the rule up till then.
Today, although all the Pacific lands have been discovered, navigation remains central to the lives of its people. It allows
movement, trade and cultural exchange and is a major contributor to their livelihoods. It facilitates the exchange of raw
materials and trade goods, necessary for social life or artistic expression.
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Oceanomania hall (first floor): Paddles and canoe prows of Melanesia
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xhibited in the middle of the Oceanomania room, the great variety of canoe prows and paddles reflects the ingenuity
and creativity of the Pacific Island peoples.
It is important not to forget that the peoples of the South Seas arrived on canoes and then sailed up river. Like the
Vikings or ancient peoples in the Mediterranean, they faced monsters and sea creatures that they made their food,
their companions, their myths and legends. Then, emboldened, they imitated them, and conquered them. The result is
surprising to our jaded yet dazzled eyes:
- colourful paddles to better mix with the tropical coral kaleidoscope,
- paddles carved like waves or tapered daggers in the dark-coloured wood of mysterious and inhabited rivers,
- prows of canoes and zoomorphic boats gliding noiselessly over the waves like the lizards of an Atlantis more often
fantasised about than discovered.
The aquatic extensions of the Pacific maritime peoples have an elegance, beauty and efficiency rarely seen elsewhere and
naturally combine with the constant movement of water and life.
The motifs that decorate the canoes and paddles are a strong expression of the identity of a geographical area or a clan.
They are also seen in ceremonial and everyday objects, on refined products or on simple fishing equipment. The diversity
of motifs throughout Melanesia does not take away from the harmony of boats, the paddles generally bearing patterns
close or similar to those of the prows of the canoes.
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Oceanomania hall (first floor): Prestigious objects in fossil clamshell and objects
to the ocean
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n both sides of the installation of Melanesian canoe paddles
and prows are showcases in which Didier Zanette exhibits an
exceptional collection of fossil clam objects from the Solomon
Islands.
The Tridacna Gigas clam or shellfish is the largest in the world
after the giant squid, providing opportunities for Pacific artists and
especially those of the Solomon Islands, to express their talent.
The clam shells have very different structural characteristics
according to whether they were found in the marine environment
or as fossils, buried for millennia in the ground.
An exceptional material, the fossil clam has given rise to unique
and highly precious objects, prized by powerful men in Melanesia.
To maintain the prerogatives of their social position, these men had
to display these unusual badges. Unlike wood carvings, the fossil
clam is resistant to erosion of time and for many generations, these
priceless possessions were handed down father to son, accentuating
the divine character of certain objects. The difficulty of acquiring
such pieces at the time is reflected and amplified today. This
shortage explains why for a long time these objects were ignored
by Westerners and why today so few prototypes exist in collections.
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Oceanomania hall (first floor): Animals from the sea made from Baining people
F
loating in the air around the prows of canoes and
paddles installed in the middle, are displays of out
of the ordinary works made and danced by the Baining
people, who were so admired by the surrealists of the
early 20th century (André Breton).
The Baining reside in the Gazelle Peninsula of New
Britain Island located north of Papua New Guinea. They
developed a fascinating art by making masks of delicate
materials with extravagant forms used to participate in
ancestral rituals. Young men organise mysterious dances
performed at night in the forest, confronting huge fires,
from which they are miraculously spared. These festivals
are some of the most spectacular ceremonies of the
Pacific world.
The Baining masks of animal figures are made from
natural materials: tree bark (tapa), bamboo, feathers,
white clay and rushes.
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Distribution
plan artworks
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