Alex Tweedy, Curator and Oceanic Art Specialist at Lyon & Turnbull, said:
“The diverse character of this region developed over millennia as a result of a constant wave of exodus and migration, voyage and exploration. As people moved from place to place, one island homeland was left behind for another and different ways of seeing the world developed. Over the span of time this patchwork developed into the immense kaleidoscope that exploded into the western consciousness in the late 18th century and that we can still see today.”
“The pieces selected for Oceania: Across the Pacific all originate from cultures seemingly so diverse from one another, but there is a common thread: all are imbued with a deeper meaning beyond simple form and function. They all tell their own story, and that of the people that created them.”