Containing the Spirit: Art of the Pacific Islands
Exhibited at SANA Art Foundation, Summer 2005
Pacific Island art is as unique and diverse as the multitude of islands contained within the vast Pacific Ocean. While each island culture has its own traditions and histories, they share a common belief in spiritual force or significance contained within art objects. This contained power is derived from motifs, materials and use.
Motifs such as bird imagery, contained within many Maori objects from New Zealand, relate to the belief that birds contain power and are able to bridge the human and spiritual realms. Materials such as wood, ivory and stone are carved and further enhanced with paint, spider webs, boar tusks, sennit and clay to imbue them with spiritual power and mythic associations. Boar tusks, used in figures from Vanuatu, reflect both the practical and the spiritual significance of pigs and boards in Melanesia. In addition to motifs and materials, it is thought the daily and ritual use of art objects that Pacific Islanders are able to beautify their world while honoring and communicating with ancestors.
-Written by Julia Fister
Lei Niho Palaoa (Ivory Pendant Necklace)
Hawai'i - 19th Century
Whale ivory, human hair and sennit
12 x 8 x 2.75
Collection of SANA Art Foundation
Photography by Michael Peters Design
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