New Caledonia’s past and present celebrated in two major exhibitions
As
part
of
the
New
Caledonia
New
Zealand
Season
2007
(www.NewCaledoniaSeason.co.nz), both the Museum of Wellington City & Sea and
Pataka, Porirua Museum of Arts and Cultures, are preparing to launch major
exhibitions exploring the dialogue between past and present, and New Zealand’s ties
with New Caledonia.
“War in Paradise”, which opens to the public on 25 August at the Museum of
Wellington City & Sea, is a photographic account of the presence of New Zealand
soldiers in New Caledonia during WWII. The exhibition’s curator and Museum
Director Brett Mason commissioned photographer Paul Thompson to take
contemporary photographs to feature alongside historical photographs and against
an original soundscape. The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with the
Museum of Bourail, the New Caledonian town where fallen New Zealand soldiers lie
buried in a special New Zealand cemetery. Veterans’ Affairs Minister Hon Rick
Barker will launch the exhibition officially on 24 August and a 13-strong
delegation from the town of Bourail, including the Bourail museum’s director, the
Mayor and local Kanak chief, is expected to attend.
Two days later, Hon Winnie Laban, local MP and Associate Minister of Pacific
Island Affairs, will open the exhibition “KANAKart: ancestral body” at Pataka
Museum of Arts and Cultures in Porirua, in the presence of a delegation from
Noumea which will include Mme Marie-Claude Tjibaou and Emmanuel Kasarhérou,
Director of the Tjibaou Culture Centre in Noumea. The collaborative work of Pataka
curator Helen Kedgley and her counterparts Marianne Tissandier from the Museum
of New Caledonia, and Gilbert Bladinières co-curator for New Caledonia, the
exhibition links traditional Kanak art and culture to contemporary expressions of
Kanak art. Iconic pieces dating from the mid-19th century dialogue with contemporary
works.
Although the approaches, techniques and materials of contemporary Kanak artists
have evolved, says Bladinières, they continue to proclaim the connection to the
ancestral body. This is echoed by the artists: When I am working, says Yolande
Moto, whose metal sculpture and collage appears in the exhibition, I start from my
Kanak imagination, tales and legends, and I mix these with images of reality. Fellow
artist Ito Waia, whose work will also be showcased, writes: I have cast a glimpse over
time, I have crossed memory with a single step.
The New Caledonia New Zealand Season 2007 is proudly supported by the
Government and Provinces of New Caledonia, and France through the Fonds
Pacifique. Throughout the year, New Caledonian artists are performing in shows and
festivals around New Zealand, while New Caledonian sportspeople are taking part in
New Zealand sporting fixtures. As the Season unfolds around the country and the
calendar year, its progress and up-coming events are recorded on the Season’s
website www.NewCaledoniaSeason.co.nz .
War in Paradise, Museum of Wellington City & Sea, 25 August 2007 – 28 January
2008. Contact Kim Young, 04 496 1947, kim.young@wmt.org.nz (possible to
arrange interviews with the curator& photographer)
KANAKart, ancestral body, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, 26 August – 2
December 2007. Contact: Helen Kedgley, 04 237 1511, HKedgley@pcc.govt.nz
(possible to arrange interviews with the curators & artists)
New Caledonia New Zealand Season 2007. Contact: Caroline Nelson, 021 244
1299, caroline.nelson@paradise.net.nz (possible to arrange interviews with the
Season directors Briony Ellis and Carla van Zon)
Embassy of France, Contact: Annie van Herck, 04 802 7777, annie.vanherck@diplomatie.gouv.fr (possible to arrange interviews with NC delegations)