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Overview
This image of a patch titled “Bungaswehr” is a contemporary art work by Sāmoan-German artist Leafa Wilson aka Olga Krause. It is part of her ongoing project “Ich heisse Olga Hedwig Krause – deutsche Kuenstlerin” that deals with the German-Sāmoan colonial legacy through a Sāmoan-German lens.
Significance
“Bungaswehr” is part of a group of objects acquired on Te Papa’s behalf by German researcher Philipp Scorch as part of the co-collecting project Materialising German-Samoan Colonial Legacies (2016). In Aotearoa New Zealand, the term “Bunga” is a racist expression for a person of colour, especially a Pacific Islander. In this artwork Leafa has (re)worked the term into “Bundeswehr,” the German armed forces symbolized through the “Bundesadler” or “German eagle.”
Acquisition History
The art piece was acquired by Te Papa after Philipp Schorch established contact with Leafa aka Olga within the context of the Materialising German-Samoan Colonial Legacies project (2016)..