Tambanum Village has long provided a central gathering place for artists from other parts of the mid-Sepik region. Much studied by anthropologists, notably Margaret Mead, and visited by missionaries from every denomination imaginable, it still continues to provide an environment that encourages innovative carving of monumental scale.
Lucas Tangun has created a superb house post illustrating Sepik mythology, which according to tradition is carved in the round. Tangun was born in 1969 and learned carving from his father during childhood. He attended the National Art School in 1986 and participated in the creation of numerous public art works in Port Moresby during that period. Seeing this magnificent carving one can easily imagine the grandeur of the Haus Tambarans, where up to thirty such posts support the soaring roofline.
Mastercarver Simon Gambro, his apprentice Joseph Kandimbu, and other carvers from other parts of the Sepik were among those invited to spend six months as carvers in residence at Stanford University in 1995. In that time they created a garden of monumental sculpture. During their stay the artists were asked to create a piece inspired by other works of art that they had experienced while working at Stanford. The Rodin Sculpture Garden impressed them greatly and led to a Sepik version of the Gates of Hell carved from pumice stone, a medium never used before by Sepik carvers. At the same time Joseph Kandimbu created his interpretation of The Thinker in wood. Both these carvings now preside over the New Guinea Sculpture Garden in Palo Alto. When Joseph returned home to Tambanum with photographs of his own work and Rodin's original, his brother Herman was moved to create Sukundimi, the carving you see in this exhibition. Herman has linked this work, carved from a magnificent piece of walnut, to a mythical Sepik character who grieves for the loss of his wife. When the early collections were made of Sepik work much of it ended up housed in public institutions like the British Museum. It is well known that these carvings provided inspiration to a number of western artists, particularly Henry Moore and Picasso. We can only wonder what exciting prospects may lie ahead as travel opportunities increasingly make it possible for artists from the opposite ends of the earth to share with each other their vision of the world.
The two magnificent Mwai masks from this village are of a quality rarely seen these days. Joe Boy created these to be danced as a pair. When in use the masks are mounted on wicker body costumes (for an example, see the costume by Kaua Gita shown at the top of this page), making the dancers appear to be the very embodiment of the spirits. Joe Boy has participated in a number of international exhibitions, most notably The Contemporary Art of Melanesia, held in Sydney Australia in 1995.
