- 1 hour ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Many other countries, we have been lucky because we have reached full nationhood without the fighting and bloodshed.
00:07But even so, our achievement of independence still represents years of planning and hard work on the part of everyone.
00:15I know that every man, woman and child of our new nation shares this moment of pride and happiness with one heart to join in celebrating our independence.
00:30Here I am in my home in Naam, Melbourne, where I live and where I grew up.
00:54I also have my cultural, ancestral and what I consider to be my actual home, Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.
01:04It's a big year for PNG, a richly vibrant nation with over 800 languages and many more dialects.
01:132025 marks 50 years of self-governance and independence from Australian colonial rule.
01:19Back in 1975, when we gained independence under the Whitlam government, it meant exciting possibilities and new beginnings.
01:29We have at this point in time broken with our colonial past and we now stand as an independent nation in our own right.
01:38This historical moment resonates in PNG's cultural and collective memory.
01:44And for some of us living in the PNG diaspora here in Australia, we hold these memories close too.
01:51It keeps us connected to home.
01:56Living in Australia and being Papua New Guinean, I often wonder what home really means.
02:02Some of us might be fortunate enough to choose the place we call home, and I'm mindful this is a privilege not afforded to everyone.
02:14Watching stories of independent celebrations in PNG, I'm reflecting on the ways PNG people are linked to the lands of our ancestors through family, language, food and culture.
02:30There's a familiarity there, even if we can't always name it.
02:38Being based in Australia, the arts is a place where I've been able to connect with stories from PNG and also PNG artists.
02:49And I want to talk to some of these artists to get to the heart of the question,
02:54what does home mean to you?
02:58And how do ideas of home shape their creativity?
03:03I'm eager to have these conversations because I'm about to journey back to PNG to enjoy independent celebrations.
03:14Before I head to the airport, though, I do have to check in with a brilliant sis.
03:19Wendy Mockhair is a writer who brings amazing stories from Papua New Guinea onto Australia's stages and screens.
03:32And her list of credits and awards really speak for itself.
03:37She's also a visual artist who documents the stories of PNG women.
03:42I'm so excited about going home.
03:46Yeah, tell me about that.
03:47How are you feeling about it all?
03:48I don't know, like home is such a big word, especially when we live as part of diaspora.
03:55What does the word mean to you?
03:56Gosh, um, medang.
03:58Medang is home for me.
04:00I spent most of my childhood up from the ages of like three to twelve.
04:05When I'm writing and when I'm creating, it's, I think like in pictures, often what comes to me is the coastline of Medang.
04:16And so a lot of my plays always start with like the ocean.
04:20Even being away from it, I can still smell it.
04:22I can still see it.
04:23And so a lot of my stories start there.
04:26I always think of like my ground, my home soil as also something that's internally in my brain.
04:31And so I have to like water it, right?
04:34And so by watering it, that's, that's my, that's my land.
04:37That's away from my land is the, is how I feel when I come to writing and creating and, and being able to use the art to stay connected to my, my people in my home.
04:48You are such a brilliant, beautiful playwright.
04:53And the reason why I love your work is because I always connect to a sense of home, which I don't ordinarily get living here in Australia.
05:02But the ways that you elevate, centre and just celebrate Black Pacific Islander stories.
05:12That's very specific.
05:13Talk about that in terms of your craft.
05:16The common perception is about the Black Pacific is that we're either asleep or we're just kind of standing idly by, not really active in our own stories.
05:29And so I like to activate us, just kind of show everyone that we are here and we've always been here.
05:38And really kind of then find the nuances and the ways in which we define ourselves and the way that we live and celebrate and love.
05:47I want to talk about your beautiful award-winning work.
05:52I am Kegu.
05:53Can you please explain a bit about that?
05:54Well, it was around the time that I was training at NIDA.
05:58I realised in second year that I'm going to graduate and there's going to be no roles for me because no one's writing any roles for us.
06:04And I decided I'm going to write a play.
06:06And around that time, there was a sorcery-related killing that happened up in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
06:12And that not only terrified me, but it also, like, saddened me.
06:16And so that propelled me.
06:18I just wrote to be able to understand parts of my culture.
06:21And then over the years, it kind of grew into this play called I Am Kegu.
06:26Well, I could happily talk more with Wendy about her incredible work.
06:30But, alas, today's not the day.
06:32Well, I know where I need to be in the next 50 minutes or so is at the airport.
06:36But let's do that.
06:38OK.
06:39And what else?
06:40Oh, can't forget the passport.
06:42Yeah, let's not forget that.
06:43Yeah.
06:43All right.
06:46Bye-bye.
06:49Bye-bye.
06:50See you.
07:02It's tricky to verbalise how it feels to be back in PNG.
07:06Of course, I have my life in Australia, but there's a different sense of belonging here.
07:11That said, I'm so excited because along with a bunch of Melanesian and First Nations artists,
07:19we're all finally here in Port Moresby.
07:22Preparations are underway for Meganesia, a massive concert that forms part of pre-independence celebrations.
07:30And some of my favourite musicians are in town for the show.
07:34It is going to be a huge celebratory event.
07:38But for now, I'm just taking in the sights and sounds of Port Moresby and taking time to meet an artist whose work is a familiar sight in this city.
07:50Look at this.
07:52Look at this.
07:53Like, I've seen this so many times on the internet, and I can't believe that I'm now here.
07:59This is Leslie Wengembel.
08:01And for me, his work really encapsulates home.
08:04Like, talking home, this image, is it?
08:08This mural, is it?
08:08It's all mural.
08:09It's about family.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Because when we talk about the idea of home, this mural represents that from grandfather to a parent and then to a child.
08:21Leslie is an iconic figure in PNG contemporary art.
08:26He paints both intimate portraits and stunning public works.
08:31Through his hyper-realist technique, he has a gift for capturing the essence of his subjects,
08:37from politicians and sports figures, to babies and kids, right through to elders.
08:45I think what I find most amazing about your work is eyes.
08:48You're extraordinary with capturing eyes.
08:51I would say, like, I mastered the eyes when I was really young.
08:54I used to look at all these old muscles and now the lights kind of glow in the eyes of, like,
08:59how to create that connection, the soul in the eyes of people.
09:02And with PNG, the eyes of, like, of elderly people, it's so engaging when you look at them.
09:08It's with love and want and innocence, also with the knowledge.
09:12I grew up with my grandma for a while, so, like, something that fascinates me is the love that they give to you.
09:18That's what even motivates me to do a lot of paintings of, like, faces of old people.
09:23It's because I wanted to capture that love, that connection, that knowledge, that wisdom,
09:28and portraying the essence of PNG, that's where it comes from.
09:34Do you ever look at the mural and think, oh, maybe I should have done a little line here or...
09:38Multiple times.
09:39Multiple times, yeah.
09:40Well, it looks perfect to me.
09:42I have to say, I think that beautiful face on the end is the one for me.
09:48I know I'm sweating up a storm, but, hey, let's run with that.
09:53Can I please give you this camera?
09:55I'd love a photo in front of this one.
09:58There we go.
09:59OK.
10:00Hang on, I don't want to block it off.
10:02Oh, you did, yes.
10:03Hey, Jesus.
10:05Eee!
10:06Am I dripping with sweat?
10:08I think, yeah, I think it's...
10:09So not flattering, but I don't care.
10:11I've seen your mural now.
10:13I'm happy you've seen it.
10:14Finally.
10:15I needed juice.
10:16Yes.
10:16For Lesley, the soulful eyes of his grandmother summed up a connection to home.
10:22And when I see the incredible eyes of his mural in the unique light of Port Moresby,
10:28there's kind of an unspoken recognition of people whose faces I don't know,
10:34and yet they feel familiar.
10:36It's work like this that's kept me connected to home from afar.
10:42So happy to be back here.
10:45Family, including chosen family through friendships, is an important part of building a sense of home.
10:52I'm meeting up with a dear friend from Australia whose creative practice has reconnected her with our PNG heritage.
11:03And that ancestral connection is adding a remarkable new dimension to her work.
11:08This is Grace Dilavik.
11:11She's a multidisciplinary artist, renowned for her beautiful ceramic and sculptural works.
11:17Hi, Grace.
11:19Hi, Archie.
11:21I'm visiting Grace at her Auntie Elizabeth's house.
11:24Lovely to meet you.
11:24This is Auntie Elizabeth.
11:25And before we sit down for a chat, they're cooking up a very special treat.
11:32Poi seo, a flatbread made with coconut and sago.
11:37We always go for the orange sago.
11:40Why orange?
11:41It's dried in the sun.
11:43Oof.
11:43Sago is a prized food within Grace's Mautuan roots.
11:48Her ancestors crafted unique earthenware pots to trade, cook and store this precious resource.
11:54Oh, and the magic is done.
11:56Oh, this is the end point there.
12:00And now that rich history forms an integral part of Grace's creativity.
12:06My ancestors, because we use clay as a very practical source to create our food, to store our sago.
12:16So I wanted to know exactly what that meant in terms of who we were and where we came from.
12:23I realised, having conversations with the elders, that our people would make these Mautuan pots.
12:30And I asked around to see who is making these pots still.
12:35And it's really an art form that is sort of dying, that only a few people know how to make these pots now.
12:44There was one elder that was still around that was teaching the younger generations these pots.
12:50And she is Aunty Lahui Arua, who is 104 years of age, living in Porribana.
12:57I'm sitting with her, learning from her the methodology of how we would make these pots.
13:02Going into the bush, digging for the clay, going down to the ocean and getting the salt water.
13:10And then bringing it back to the village to create the body of clay, to then work with the clay.
13:16Connecting with this craft has made Grace consider what home really means and how that relates to the art she makes whilst at home in Melbourne.
13:25A lot of my practice began as like intuitive forms, just playing around with clay and just touching clay.
13:35And when I was doing it, I found great peace and a sense of home in maybe the familiarity with like the earth.
13:44In the backyard of my place, I've dug a hole, which is a mumu, you know, where we cook in the ground in Papua New Guinea.
13:52But it also is where I fire my pieces.
13:56There's something really grounding about using fire as a natural way to harden and create something into a permanent object.
14:04Home for me, when I was little, just meant a place where I lived.
14:11I think more and more home is becoming my actual lineage of home being here in Papua New Guinea.
14:19We don't have the language to be able to describe what this means to me, but it's extremely special and really sacred, actually.
14:28And the feeling for me is familiar.
14:32In the experience of the sound and the textures and the feelings, I remember what it is to be home.
14:43And now you're going to make me cry.
14:46And now we're both crying.
14:50Grace's story tells us that art can enrich and clarify our sense of home.
14:58But in many Western museums and galleries, artworks that have a strong cultural relationship to place and people have found themselves removed, often without context, from their country of origin.
15:12So does art itself have a home?
15:15Our resident art historian, Mary McGillivray, explores this question with someone who thinks about it a lot.
15:22In the days of the British Empire, things were taken.
15:28They now live in museums, galleries and some much stranger places.
15:33I wanted to ask you a bit about the language that you used talking about the stuff the British stole.
15:37You used the phrase contested objects.
15:40Why that phrase?
15:41Because there's always more than one perspective on these objects.
15:45If there was only one perspective, it was legal and it's fine, or it was stolen and it's not fine, then there would be no show.
15:53The objects are a doorway into a bigger history.
15:56And the way you get there is by different perspectives.
15:59How do you decide if an object is stolen or not?
16:01I'm quite assiduous about not making a judgment on whether something is or isn't stolen.
16:07Often what I find is the object is a talisman for broader theft.
16:12What I have noticed over the years is there's a handful of objects that attract a lot of attention.
16:17The Parthenon marbles is an obvious one.
16:20There's lots of First Nations objects that have been taken, not just from Australia, but from Canada, the Pacific, America.
16:26And those objects get a lot of attention.
16:29And they're like, it's stolen, it was taken.
16:31And sometimes that's true and sometimes it's not.
16:33But what is undeniably true is those objects are a tether for a much broader theft of land, of culture, of identity.
16:44These objects, they get to illuminate a bigger and more complicated history that we are all still grappling with.
16:50So these objects are kind of like conduits for seeking justice for a broader injustice.
16:55Yeah, I think they are.
16:57There's space to be able to say, actually, you know what, technically, legally, not stolen.
17:03But what else is going on here?
17:06What else is going on around this moment that we haven't dealt with?
17:10What I am adamant about is tell the truth about how it got there.
17:15Because that's what makes me angry.
17:17It was collected in a punitive mission.
17:19You mean you massacred people?
17:20Is that what you mean?
17:22That's the shit that drives me up the wall.
17:23Do you think that objects have a true home?
17:30Whether it's a legal home, a sort of spiritual home, ethically a home?
17:36It's a wonderful question.
17:40En masse, no.
17:41I do not believe that every object has a singular home.
17:47Individually, every object that sits in a museum, in a gallery, has its own journey, has its own story, has its own injustices.
17:53What I find most interesting is that as these objects move through time and space, they actually acquire more story.
18:03And what I love to do is the unravelling of that.
18:07If you actually want to learn from the objects, why not ask the people where it came from?
18:12And not be afraid that they will instantly want it back.
18:16But maybe, more often than not, I find lots of source communities, they just want to say how that story is told.
18:24And they want to tell their history.
18:26There can be more than one truth and reality at the same time.
18:29And concurrent histories are the full picture, right?
18:32It's about the mass.
18:34But history is messy.
18:36Music is a big part of my life and a big way I connect with home.
18:59Award-winning PNG hip-hop artist Sprigamek is one of the performers at the Meganesia Concert.
19:05And he has a huge following.
19:10His songs very much speak to his story of being Papua New Guinean, and his flows represent the multiple languages of his heritage.
19:18So I can rap in Macayo or more to English, Pidgin, and Aroma, and still collecting a few languages.
19:25And I stick to the essence and the roots of hip-hop, being a voice for the voiceless, representing the struggle, and try to tell it how it is.
19:35I've been a rebel since I was a kid.
19:38So, you know, yeah, I started with the graffiti art and, you know, breakdance and stuff.
19:43And I kind of realised I had an affinity to hip-hop, with the storytelling.
19:47PNG has gone through massive changes on the journey from colonialism to self-governance and independence.
19:58There's been social and political upheaval.
20:02These shifts inevitably have an impact on the nation, and Sprigga's songs speak to those impacts.
20:07Tell us about the ways that you share stories of Moresby in your music.
20:13I was born and bred here, Port Moresby.
20:16So I've lived to see, you know, the changes over my years on earth.
20:21And I think that's one thing, you know, as an artist, we have a moral obligation to society to, you know, give back.
20:27I see my surroundings, I see what's happening.
20:30I just, you know, put it into song and just share it with my audience.
20:34And I feel as an artist, you know, we're messengers of change and messengers of, you know, hope at the same time.
20:44What do you hope for the next 50 years for PNG?
20:47I doubt we'll ever see real, realistic, tangible change in my lifetime.
20:54We still have our ups and downs in the current economy.
20:58And, you know, everyone's really feeling the, I wouldn't say pinch, but punch.
21:02This is still home.
21:04Home, it'll never change.
21:05This is the land we were born into, and I still love my country.
21:08I still believe there's hope.
21:09We've got to stand up and fight for it and try to make a change, you know, the best way we can.
21:13Yeah.
21:13Tell me, where is the place where you feel most at home?
21:18For me, personally, when I'm on stage.
21:21Really?
21:22That's like, to me, that's complete freedom.
21:29The MC mentions my name, and I mentally switch from Alan into Spigamek, the artist.
21:43Hearing Spigamek's passion for PNG's storytelling is powerful.
21:54As home changes around us, our ideas of what that means does require truth-tellers to speak
22:00to the challenges.
22:02But it's also important to celebrate the wins.
22:06And at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, which is where independence actually took place back
22:11in 1975, preparations are underway for a truly epic celebration.
22:19The Meganesia concert has an astounding number of moving parts.
22:25Roadies, crew, not to mention over 100 Aboriginal, Xenadkes, West Papuan and PNG artists and performers.
22:34It's a whirlwind of activity with a surprisingly chilled-out artistic director, Airee Leke Ingram.
22:45We're getting ready for the big night.
22:47We're close.
22:48How much sleep are you getting in the moment, Airee?
22:50I'm not sleeping.
22:51I'll sleep after the show, yeah.
22:58Airee, known as Airee Leke, is a prominent name proudly bringing Pacific culture to stages
23:04around the world.
23:06He's an Aire-nominated musician and producer, master percussionist, as well as being an artistic
23:12director of some of the largest musical and cultural events across the Pacific.
23:17He's even tried to teach me to play drums on national television.
23:24Oh, God.
23:25We're getting you close, you close, you close.
23:27And as you can see, I needed to stick to my day job.
23:34As a champion of contemporary cultural music, I'm curious to hear about Airee's concept of
23:40home.
23:40Mostly, you know, my home where I guess my roots is in Gaba Gaba, central province, PNG.
23:48But, you know, I guess home is where love is, you know, that's really what it means to me.
23:52So, as a musician, what sounds or instruments immediately remind you of home?
23:59Definitely Gaba, which is the Kundu drum.
24:04My village is called Gaba Gaba, and in English that means drum drum.
24:09In Torres Strait, they call it Warup.
24:12In West Papua, they call it Tifa.
24:14In Kianji, we call it Kundu.
24:16When my grandfather taught me, you know, he would say that the Gaba makes your blood move.
24:24The actual beat is like the heartbeat, you know, is this kind of beat.
24:31It really pulls you in, you know, like you belong with this drum.
24:36Yeah, that sound always, you know, straight away back to my village.
24:40When I was taught then by more contemporary musicians, when I was young, they used to tell me, you know, your passport don't take you around the world.
24:48This drum takes you around the world.
24:51And that's been my life story.
24:53I totally get what Irie's saying here.
24:55And it's a common feeling, living in the diaspora, that certain sensory moments create an evocative and unmistakable pull back to our motherlands.
25:05Many of the Meganesian performers travel for a living and have their own unique concept of home, including West Papuan brothers and dancers in the show, Sam and Yoshua.
25:18How does movement and dance connect you to that place of home?
25:22We both came to Oshela as a refugee.
25:24I was 12, he was 15.
25:27And now we are living in two worlds.
25:30You know, I'm leaving my home, but I'm also creating home here.
25:33Every time we came together as a band, we feel home.
25:36You know, all the drumming, all the songs we sing, it reminds us about home.
25:40So it's like home.
25:40Homes bring family, joy, peaceful and freedom.
25:45And at the rehearsal before the big event, I'm particularly thrilled to see music artist Yirumal.
25:51With close family connections to Yothu Yindi, he continues an important legacy and tradition of bringing his Yong'u language, music and culture to audiences in Moresby.
26:05And at Meganesia, he'll be performing with members from the legendary Yothu Yindi.
26:11Can we take a minute for your bilong?
26:13Look at that.
26:14You've got your beautiful bilas already.
26:16I'm carrying all my family now.
26:18Yes.
26:19From Putwosby.
26:20And I'll take it back to Australia.
26:22Tell me how it's been for you.
26:25I'm thoroughly enjoying it at the moment.
26:27Seeing the beautiful people, one-talk people from this country.
26:30And celebrating with them for this 50-year anniversary.
26:34That's how I'm looking forward to it.
26:36And sharing my spirit about my home.
26:39Yes.
26:39Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:45Ah, love.
26:46All the way, love.
26:48Happy 50th birthday, PNG.
26:53Being in Port Moresby, watching this incredible line-up of artists celebrate 50 years of PNG independence,
27:00well, it's an incredibly moving experience.
27:03There's an explosion of culture and pride and so much joy and connection on stage.
27:10I'm thinking back to all the artists I've connected with on this trip and the different perspectives
27:20they've generously shared about home through the traditions that connect us across generations.
27:27The people and family that nurture our souls, the music and dance that allows us to celebrate and locate our relationships with land and with each other.
27:39Home is an elusive concept that's tricky to nail down, but what I've come to realise is you definitely know it when you feel it.
27:54I'm so proud about so many things, in particular our sense of community, you know, being part of a tribe and it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you know you belong somewhere and your people will call you home.
28:10For me, it's that feeling of true belonging, where how you show up and what you share of yourself in the world makes sense, where people and place ground you in the most poignant ways.
28:25Everyone who we've spoken to about home has spoken about home being a sense of security, safety and belonging.
28:33And I very much feel that here, it is such a weird thing to say, but walking around and seeing faces that look like mine and then connecting with artists who take so much pride in sharing our culture and, you know, beautiful specific parts of our customs.
28:54Yeah, it's amazing being home.
29:03Yeah, it's amazing being home.
Be the first to comment