An installation view of the first gallery of the exhibition "Shape of Time"

The Shape of Time: About the Galleries

The exhibition is organised according to island groups in a suite of galleries that explore ideas about voyaging, ancestors and time.

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Voyaging

The idea of 'Voyaging' is strongly evoked in the arts of Oceania — both in the literal sense of ‘travelling across the open seas’ and conceptually, in relation to the ‘spiritual voyaging’ it facilitates. Islands were stepping stones in an ancient trajectory of ocean passage that reached across space and time. Oral histories tell of the jagged ends of islands breaking off and swimming like sharks or sailfish through the ocean to anchor themselves farther east, creating new destinations for the next generation of Islanders.

The extreme mobility of Austronesian voyagers meant that a physical return to a departure point or homeland was not always possible and ocean navigators conserved memories of their origins when settling in a new territory. Acknowledging one’s lineage was of paramount importance — a genealogical signifier that identified not only where one was heading, but also from what place one had come.

Ancestors

'Ancestors' presents a selection of major, monumental works from Papua New Guinea and the large island archipelagos situated off its coastline. These impressive works highlight the role of ceremonial architecture in connecting living communities with their ancestral forebears.

These artworks tell of the creation of the world — and demonstrate the close kinship shared with the land and sustaining crops and plants (such as sago and yam) that grow from it. Many of the complex ritual artworks in these galleries were conceived for installation in ceremonial houses at the heart of communities or were assembled for dramatic seasonal performances to attract the support and guidance of ancestors.

Time

The bold and innovative artworks in this section — 'Time' — address the agency of art in the Pacific. Visually dynamic artworks explore the way art is deployed by the peoples of Oceania to manipulate time and ensure its perpetual unfolding into the present.

Across Oceania, art is caught in the rich ebb and flow of life. Growing, flourishing and subsiding with each seasonal cycle, vital relationships are nurtured within the community through cultural practice, and the sharing of ceremonial knowledge through performance. This constant source of renewal and regeneration provides a dizzying kaleidoscope of creativity that continues to guide, motivate and invigorate life in the region today.