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George Nuku
Today I met George Nuku
for the first time. "Moko," he said, "is a way of facing death, it's a way of
living in the present. I want to be here and now. Not somewhere else. Also when
I'm sculpting. I want to be in front of the material I'm sculpting. Finally, the
material will also be in front of me and will start speaking to me.
In my country fellow artists don't understand why I want to work with new
materials like polystyrene. They would like me to continue working with wood or
stone. I think my ancesters sculpted trees because they were living in a world
filled with trees. I'm living in a world filled with polystyrene. I cannot
pretend it's not there. I have to develop a spirtual relationship with my
surroundings, just as my ancestors did. In this sense, my moko stands for my
attempts to honor the past, but to live in the present."
(Yesterday George Nuku saw some dried, tatooed heads of his ancestors exhibited
in a museum in Brussels. How did he feel about this?)
"A lot of people think the heads should return to our country. I don't.
Originally, they were made to be moved. We live in a pretty rough country.
Moving the body of a killed friend is almost impossible. So we cut off the heads
of our friends and family members to bring them home. They were easily
recognisable because of the moko, of course. Actually, the moko looks better
when you're dead and when your head is dried.
But I think the heads should be exhibited in a more respectful manner. Now
they are looked down upon. They are exhibited too low. I would like to make
cabinets for them, so they can be hidden most of the time and be looked at in a
more respectful way.
Montagne de Miel, 1 November 2008
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