Page 74-75 - Annual Review 2009

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Contemporary Pacific Art
Mansak Family
‘Guardian of tabou house figure’ series
2005–06
Demonstrating a powerful sense of sculptural
form and a daring use of colour, the five
‘Guardian of tabou house’ figures acquired
came from the northern part of Ambrym, one
of the islands of Vanuatu. The figures were
gifted by Australian collector the late David
Baker through the Queensland Art Gallery
Foundation. This followed an earlier gift in
2008 of four sculptures and two slit drums, and
additional acquisitions of North Ambrym works.
Collectively, the works represent an important
development for the Gallery’s Pacific collection.
These works were premiered in ‘The 6th Asia
Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.’
Kairak Baining people
Kavat mask 1971
The superb kavat mask (pictured top right)
was one of eight masks from the collection
of Harold Gallasch, which featured in the
exhibition ‘Paperskin: Barkcloth across the
Pacific’. Prior to the ‘Paperskin’ exhibition, this
mask had never been displayed, and it still
carries traces from its use in night-time fire
performances: soot from fire and remnants of
the dyes and oils used on the dancers’ skin.
The Baining people live at the eastern end of
the Papua New Guinean island of New Britain.
Melanesia, and in particular Papua New Guinea,
is recognised as an area of interest for the
Pacific collection.
Mansak Family / Guardian of tabou house figure 2005–06 / Carved coconut
wood with natural dyes / Gift of David Baker through the Queensland Art
Gallery Foundation 2009. Donated through the Australian Government’s
Cultural Gifts Program
Top right: Installation view of ‘Paperskin: Barkcloth across the Pacific’, QAG,
featuring the Kavat mask 1971 (centre).
Asian Art pre 1970
The development of this collection area has gathered
momentum due to a long-term loans program coming to an
end in December 2009. As part of the opening celebrations
for GoMA in late 2006, the Gallery committed to a three-year
program of loans and exchanges with key institutions including
the Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Japan, the Shanghai Museum
in China, the National Museum of Korea and the Smithsonian
Institution’s Arthur M Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC. With
this program coming to a close, the Gallery has begun to
develop a strategic acquisitions program in pre-modern Asian
art to ensure cohesion and depth for future rotations.
A highlight of the 2009 acquisitions was Kawamata
Tsunemasa’s eighteenth-century Six fold screen: Cherry
blossom at Yasaka-Jinja, Kyoto. The screen belongs to a
genre of imagery known as meisho-e, which means pictures
of famous places. This is a spring scene, at the time of the
popular cherry blossom viewing or hanami.
Also acquired this year was Matsuno Chikanobu’s eighteenth-
century Hanging scroll: Standing beauty. This work was
acquired with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust
through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation, continuing
the long standing support of Henry Bartlett, CMG, OBE.
Matsuno Chikanobu / Hanging scroll: Standing beauty 18th century / Ink / Purchased 2009
with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery
Foundation