A Winter's Day

Though we need rain, today's weather was fabulous. Clear blue skies and warm enough for a Tshirt if you were in the sun (and out of the wind). This shag was enjoying the sun along the Claisebrook inlet in East Perth, close to the gallery we visited today.

I dragged Kevin along to an exhibition at the Holmes a Court Gallery. The exhibition is of bark cloth (tapa) from Oro Province, the last area we lived in when we were in Papua New Guinea in the 70s. The area it came from was the mountains - specifically Mount Lamington which is a now dormant volcano about 20 miles from Popondetta.

While we were in Popondetta I used to buy tapa from women who made it, for the girls at the Vocational Centre to use in making items to sell to tourists. The tapa makers were from the Tufi area, which is on the coast, and I was not aware of any tapa being made locally. I would love to have seen some of this Omie tapa 30 years ago.

The pieces are quite beautiful, but I believe that though they may use some traditional motifs the makers have been greatly influenced by other traditions as well as commercial considerations. The catalogue tells of how the Omie (especially the young men) are becoming aware of the value of the art produced by the older women. I suspect that the Omie have been exposed to visitations from Business Development groups. This is NOT a BAD THING, and I hope the Omie reap the benefit (look at the prices asked!).

However I am concerned that the major beneficiaries will be the galleries, as has happened with Australian indigenous painters, and that the buyers are not fully aware that these pieces are not traditional tapa, but contemporary bark paintings.