Art from Papua New Guinea spotlighted for country’s anniversary of independence

The Saint Louis Art Museum is among only a few art museums in the United States dedicated to presenting Oceanic art. SLAM’s collection strength from this region of the world is in art from Papua New Guinea. 

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of a group of institutions this year that are commemorating the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence from Australia on September 16, 1975. The yearlong global collective, Wan Bel: A PNG Collective Global Exhibition, celebrates Papua New Guinea’s cultural legacy and honors the artists and the cultures from which they originate. The title for the project, Wan Bel, is a Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin phrase for community spirit, literally “one belly.” A network of about 40 international museums is participating through digital resources organized on the Wan Bel website. 

SLAM stewards 382 works of art from Papua New Guinea. Selections are on view in the Museum’s Level 1 galleries, but more can be viewed digitally through SLAM’s online collection. Here are a few highlights: 

Elema Helmet Mask  

With the appearance of a whimsical creature, this mask introduced a mood of welcoming and relaxation during large celebrations. These occasions honored the water spirits among neighboring communities of the Papuan Gulf. Little masks such as this, worn atop the heads of masqueraders, followed the appearance of large masks representing more-dangerous water spirits. An artist fabricated this mask by stretching bark cloth over an armature of bamboo branches. Bark cloth is a material obtained by beating the inner bark of mulberry or breadfruit trees. 

New Ireland Memorial (malagan) 

A hornbill figure, nestled among a panel of intricate openwork designs, demonstrates the virtuosity of New Ireland sculptors. Memorial sculptures such as this, called “malagan,” were created to honor the deceased. As part of memorial ceremonies, a large group of such sculptures were displayed beneath a structure built upon the collective graves of the most esteemed ancestors, next to the men’s ceremonial house. This sculpture represents infinite varieties of subject matter interpreted as spirits who are the keepers of forests and waterways. Malagan ceremonies grant people the rights to exploit these resources for subsistence. At the end of the ceremonies, the sculptures were left to deteriorate in the forest. 

This work is on view in Morton D. May and Louis D. Beaumont Foundation Gallery 106.  

Inyai-Ewa Bird Figure 

With its unusual height and dramatic presence, this figure seems to hover in the air. To create this impressive sculpture, the artist carved the head and body from wood, wove the wings from plant fibers, and assembled the parts. Although mixed materials are common in arts of the Sepik region, the large scale of this object is unique. This bird figure was among a group of related sculptures collected during the 1960s on the upper Korewori River, a tributary of the Sepik River. Exhibited in a New York City gallery in 1968, the group inspired surprise and admiration among the visiting public. However, there is no documentation to explain the sculptures’ indigenous significance or ritual contexts. 

This work is on view in Morton D. May and Louis D. Beaumont Foundation Gallery 107.  

Astrolabe Bay Male Figure 

A bird, possibly a hornbill, sits atop this figure’s head. The bird likely indicates the clan to which the important individual represented belonged. In New Guinea, each animal or plant species is linked to a precise clan or familial group by descent. Beneath the figure’s chin, a component of body decoration conveys high social status among men from Astrolabe Bay. This sculpture would have appeared along with similar examples in the communal men’s house. There, young men would see the sculptures during their initiation to adulthood.

Collected in the Astrolabe Bay region at the end of the 19th century by a Hungarian researcher, this work is a rare testament to art of this area. Germany established a colony at Astrolabe Bay in 1884, making it one of the earliest locations in New Guinea to be settled by Europeans. Local, traditions-based art making diminished as communities converted to Christianity. 

This work is on view in Morton D. May and Louis D. Beaumont Foundation Gallery 106. 

Siane Ceremonial Board (gerua wenena) 

Colorful, geometric designs enhance an abstracted human silhouette. This figure’s folded arms and legs suggest a crouching position, with the hands just below either side of the head. The lower section of the sculpture, which seems to suggest legs, would have been concealed when worn, disappearing into the headdress that mounted the figure atop the performer’s head. In an impressive display, hundreds of men wear figures such as this, called “gerua,” during dances celebrating grand periodic exchanges of pigs. These occasions give rhythm to the life of Siane communities in the Highlands of New Guinea. The painted motifs of a gerua are specific to different participating clans. 

This work is on view in Morton D. May and Louis D. Beaumont Foundation Gallery 107. 

Ngala Canoe Shield 

A face appears at the center of a fibrous panel, which extends from a pole carved with a succession of tiny hooks terminating with a bird head. Shields such as this were affixed to the front of canoes during ceremonies related to war expeditions or fertility. The term canoe shield is ambiguous. Such objects did not so much physically protect the occupants of the watercraft but rather endowed them with the power of the ancestor represented. When not in use on a canoe, the shield could have been affixed to the facade of a men’s ceremonial house flanked by paddles. Although the significance of its use on a men’s house is unknown, there is a visual similarity between the overall form of the canoe shield and that of paddle heads. 

This work is on view in Morton D. May and Louis D. Beaumont Foundation Gallery 109.