The Two Worlds of Omai

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 9, 27 October 1977, Page 2

The Two Worlds of Omai

(Exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery from Nov. 2).

Some of the finest art gems in Polynesian history will be on display in this important exhibition. Over 240 works, brought from Museums here and overseas, consist of historial artifacts ranging from, Maori woodcarvings, a Moriori god figure, Samoan tapa, dance paddles, clubs and an Hawaiian feather cape.

The works cover the wide range of the Pacific. They were made by unknown Polynesian artisans for a wide nYimber of uses, including religious ceremonies and ordinary daily use. Probably they were not made to function as “Art” in the Western European sense. But today you are invited to look upon them and appreciate them as beautiful objects, as Art.

This exhibition should remind us of the art tradition of Polynesia. A tradition that helped influence the development of modern art.

The exhibition commemorates the bicentenary of the return of Omai, the first Polynesian to visit Britain, to his home in Tahiti with Captain Cook. The two worlds that met when English, French and Spanish explorers entered the Pacific in the 18th century is atheme of the display. Works by English artists done in the same period as the Polynesian works will be presented side by side.

Omai, from Raiatea in the Society Group and in his early twenties, reached England in 1774. Omai entered London’s rigid class society and became an immediate success. No man

was his superior and his pride and mana carried him through such austere occasions as shooting grouse, dinner and attending races with the upper class.