Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific

Australia's indigenous culture is the oldest continuous culture anywhere in the world. But it was nearly wiped out when Europeans colonized the region. As the new nation of Australia was developed, Aboriginal peoples, and their ideas, were destroyed or marginalized. But slowly, this indigenous art was globally appreciated and helped Aboriginal people to reimagine an Australia of their own.

The West created a myth of Polynesia as a paradise and, in so doing, destroyed the riches of its indigenous culture. European missionaries and colonizers destroyed what they didn't understand and appropriated what was left. These islands were reimagined as an explorer's playground, with women available for exploitation. But then the artists started to fight back.

Unlike other nations in the region, New Zealand's indigenous Maori people resisted colonization and protected their precious culture. Now this art is an integral part of the modern country’s identity and thrives around the world. This melding of ideas has created a fascinating artistic hybrid that includes items such as a Madonna and Child statue adorned with the sacred Maori facial tattoo.