item details
Overview
History
This tapa cloth is titled Wo'ohohe (Ground-burrowing spider) and was made by Brenda Kesi in 2012. Brenda lives and works in Kinado village (Gora) in the Oro Province in Papua New Guinea.
Construction
Brenda Kesi (Ariré) has created an ancestral sihoti’e taliobame’e (design of the mud) known as wo’ohohe representing the ground-burrowing spider, just as she was taught by her mother, Go’ovino. This design can be traced to the the old Ematé clan village of Enopé which was abandoned due to the 1951 eruption of Huvaemo (Mount Lamington). Brenda recalls how, before that, her mother was taught this design by her mother, Munne. She explains how in the old days of making barkcloths the women had no paints so they would soak the barkcloth in mud, cut the desired pieces and then sew them onto the plain barkcloth. The contrasting effects would result in various bold visual designs. The design was sewn with a bat-wing bone needle and a river reed was shredded to create the sewing thread.
Acquisition history
This tapa cloth was part of the Omie Artists, Suja's Daughters exhibition and was acquired from the Andrew Baker Art Dealer in Australia in 2013.
References
Balari, S. B., Ryan, J., Modjeska, D. & Sare, A. (2009). Wisdom of the Mountain: Art of the Omie. Melbourne, Australia: National Gallery of
Gadai, A., Gama, L., Hago, P. R., Hoijo, J. M., Jonevari, D., Keme, N. & Upia, S. (2006). Omie: The barkcloth of Omie. Sydney, Australia: Presfast Pty Ltd.
Maud, P., Mallon, S. & Miller, I. (2009). Paperskin: Barkcloth across the Pacific. Exhibition Catalogue, 31 October 2009 – 14 February 2010. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Art Gallery
Omie Artists Inc. (2013). Omie Artists. Retrieved from http://www.omieartists.com/about-us/
Omie Artists Inc., Modjeska, & D., King, B. (2013). Omie Artists: Suja's Daughters. Brisbane, Australia: Andrew Baker Art Dealer Pty Ltd.
Pacific Islands Trade & Invest. (2011). Omie Artists. Retrieved from http://www.pacifictradeinvest.com/index.php/cat/file/54-omie-bark-cloth