Rare Vanuatu art goes on show
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The pieces have never before been seen outside Vanuatu. (www.annandalegalleries.com.au)
A rare art collection from a remote island in Vanuatu is creating a buzz in the art world.
The pieces - including wooden figures, masks and a four-metre wooden drum - have never before been seen outside the Pacific Island nation are being exhibited at Sydney's Annandale Galleries.
The gallery's curator, David Baker, says it is stunning art.
"It is from a culturally sound area but when you look at it, it is contemporary art and so it is unique in that respect," he said.
"We've studied the books from the museums and art galleries of the world and we can only see one example of a piece that looks a little bit like it in the British Museum, but nothing in major European museums or American museums.
"It's the first time it has come out for an exhibition which is an international exhibition here in Sydney."
Mr Baker says the artworks are traditionally hidden from the outside world because it has been a secret and sacred society.
But he says with the development of Western culture in Vanuatu, the high chief recognised that unless they involved the younger people in the custom and culture, it will would be extinct in the near future.
"The way of [preventing it from dying out] is involving the younger people and then showing the world what the people do believe and have created," he said.
Mr Leary says a number of pieces have been secured by the National Gallery in Canberra and 10 pieces have gone to the National Gallery of Victoria and 10 to the Queensland Art Gallery.
"The museum ... in Sydney, the Australian Museum, has plans to acquire a number of pieces so there'll be on an exhibition around Australia," he said.
"They are major international pieces, so they will have an important part in their collections."
The exhibition is open until August 23.
Adapted from an interview by Jesse Leary for The World Today
