For thousands of years, in great patterns of migratory movement, the ancestors of the Polynesians peopled the islands of Oceania. In epic feats of celestial navigation, they voyaged in large double hulled canoes, using the stars and knowledge of waves to discover specks of land separated by thousands of kilometers, building their own culture, languages, religions, trade routes, legends and artforms.
They built civilizations around themselves.
The last great Polynesian voyages began from Tahiti and Samoa between 400-1000 C.E. These voyages reached Hawaii, Rapanui, Rarotonga, Aotearoa New Zealand and South America.
Today, the remnants of pre-colonial Pacific artifacts and artworks are zealously guarded in foreign museums who periodically celebrate their existence in exhibitions inexplicably associated with the word ‘primitive’. On the open market, rare examples from ‘private collections’ trade for staggering amounts.
At odds with this value proposition, is the obsolete yet persistent western mindset that seeks to devalue the cultural and political worth of Pacific nations. For the longest time, the inherent value of the Pacific’s contemporary construct has been downtrodden, relegated to the status of unequal and of little merit by western discourse. As a consequence, the elegant disdain with which the west historically viewed the broader Pacific entity culminated in destructive foreign policies governed largely by self-interest.
In a neocolonial context, Pacific nations have become more self aware, divesting themselves of colonial governorship and becoming independently proactive within world political, financial and cultural circles. National cultural research is encouraged and increasingly funded by governments; philanthropists and international cultural bodies. The art of traditional voyaging has also been revived, large Polynesian Vaka’s once again navigate the heavens and the Pacific Ocean.
Significant exhibitions of modern Pacific art have also become more regular on foreign soil including Paradise Now? (Asia Society, New York City, 2004), Lisa Reihana’s ‘In Pursuit of Venus [infected]’, 2015-17 - La Biennale di Venezia 2017, and most recently, Oceania (Royal Academy of Art, London, 2018). These important exhibitions have helped shift the Pacific cultural conversation to a broader, more enlightened framework and helped contextualize its contemporary reality.
Now the Cook Islands are at Venice for the first time, at Personal Structures, alongside the famed Biennale and it is my pleasure to introduce artist Mahiriki Tangaroa and her site specific exhibition Kaveinga - Angels of the Ocean.
Kaveinga is guidance. The artist writes, “We traversed the expansive ocean to secure and maintain relationships. Traditional history links us to the East and West of Polynesia. Chiefly titles, linguistics, shared iconic deities and sacred landmarks are proof of this connection. As seafaring people, navigation was critical to our livelihood, to reunite with neighbouring tribes and family, to seek and settle new lands. The skill and knowledge of the Navigator was held in the highest regard. The ability to read the constellations of the stars, patterns of the ocean, and ominous signs in the weather, ensured safe passage on what was an often uncertain journey.”
Kaveinga, guidance, knowledge and guardianship are critical pillars of our past, a foundation that was almost lost upon the arrival of foreign actors 200 years ago. Today these pillars are being rebuilt by a younger generation, excited to rediscover their past. Traditional knowledge is being reclaimed and preserved in visual artforms, carvings, dance, costume, festivals, tattoo, games, language, books, fashion, video, film & social media.
Traditional knowledge is a resource of immeasurable value, with the ability to play a central role in the economic sustainability of Pacific economies. It is a collective beacon of identity within the complex global reality of now. Culture shapes individual, communal and national identities and informs the way we see the world and our place in it, our values and beliefs. The way we think and behave provides a foundation for our social wellbeing and national cohesion.
Kaveinga – Angels of the Ocean is our very latest statement of cultural reclamation and a new voyage of Pacific contemporary art, from the Cook Islands to Venice. I do hope that you enjoy the experience.
