Miriama Bono is a Polynesian artist, independent curator, and architect.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the Pacific Islands Development Program or the East-West Center.
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Tahitian artist Tahe Drollet was invited in June 2024 to take part in Maori Rosanna Raymond’s SaVĀge K’lub at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), in conjunction with the opening of the Gauguin’s World exhibition, Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao. An event also attended by Marguerite Lai’s O Tahiti E troupe. Tahitians, Maoris, Samoans and Cook Islands came together for performances, invited to respond to the work of Paul Gauguin and his Tahitian and Marquesan period.
A context which could have been controversial, but which gave the artists the opportunity to meet and express their particular identities.
Artist Tahe Drollet presented a work entitled Riding the Settler, representative of his practice. A tiki is enthroned on the head of Bougainville, whose body is materialized by a Polynesian-inspired umete (dish). Of course, it’s Bougainville’s head that is most intriguing, and calls for an explanation from the artist.
As usual, this young Tahitian artist offered a work with an offbeat look, full of humor and mischief. By mixing Polynesian and Western references, he brings cultures into dialogue, opening up new narrative perspectives.
Like many Polynesians, Tahe grew up between two worlds. He recounts how, as a child, the family home was full of Polynesian objects, whose meaning or origin he didn’t know, cohabiting with Western references. A fan of Japanese cartoons, the artist grew up in a multicultural environment, surrounded by cultural elements that eluded him, and he invented a world for himself in which all these influences interacted, giving him a rich, abundant vocabulary to which he brings a new coherence. With Tahe, cultures no longer clash, but mingle, becoming richer, chattier, funnier, and more intriguing. Far from being a loss of meaning, his works are, on the contrary, an ode to the multiplication of meaning.
And after 10 years of a rich and recognized practice on his native island, Tahe is (finally) beginning to be exhibited outside Tahiti, which augurs exciting future creations. The artist was thus invited to take part in SaVĀge K’lubpar by Rosanna Raymond, herself commissioned by the National Art Gallery, in conjunction with the opening of the Gauguin’s World exhibition, Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao. The work Tahe presented within SaVĀge K’lub, Riding the Settler, is representative of her practice.
“When I was asked to react to Paul Gauguin’s work, I have to say I wasn’t very motivated at first, given his reputation. I then began to research the subject, and this led me to Bougainville’s journal, in which he recounts his arrival in Tahiti, which he calls the new Cythère. Bougainville recounts how a young girl came aboard and tried to seduce him. He later boasts that the girl was a virgin, as he notes the presence of blood. This detail deeply disgusted me, especially as he then seems surprised that the girl was confused and eager to leave the ship. I was revolted by this attitude and these remarks, and I told myself that Bougainville’s writings had opened the door to this abuse of Polynesian women. I told myself that it was his writings that led Gauguin to come to Polynesia in search of an exotic ideal, and that his words encouraged men, and Gauguin, to behave in this way.
Riding the Settler is a reaction, a fantasy that I propose. What if Bougainville had never come? What if one of our gods, in this case a Marquesan tiki, had guided him elsewhere, far from our islands. The choice of the tiki is linked to the Marquesas, since Gauguin lived there, but it’s also a recurring figure in my work.”
The work was made in resin in Tahiti, in the artist’s surfboard workshop. For Bougainville’s head, Tahe molded the statue that stands on Place Bougainville in Papeete, where the navigator’s bust faces the sea. A daring climb for Tahiti, where this kind of practice is uncommon, but also highly representative of Tahe Drollet’s work. For, in addition to their quirky, sometimes grating humor, his works are distinguished by a remarkable sense of detail, eloquently coherent. In contemplating each of his works, it’s abundantly clear that the precision and beauty of each element reflects an intention. The dialogue he establishes between cultures that are a priori opposed to each other is fascinating, even universal in scope and totally topical. At a time when there is much talk of decolonizing museum institutions and encouraging dialogue between cultures, Tahe’s proposals are a necessary breath of fresh air—especially for the West, which is used to seeing itself as the benchmark.
Also on hand for the opening of the exhibition was O Tahiti E, Marguerite Lai’s award-winning Tahitian dance troupe. The celebrated choreographer presented a series of five lively tableaux, masterfully interpreted by herself and four dancers from her troupe, accompanied by three musicians and one singer. These delicate, subtle tableaux brought Gauguin’s paintings back to life, reminding us that behind the artist’s silhouettes there were people, souls, a people, a culture. The fragile beauty of these interpretations was fascinating.
In an entirely different register, but with just as much talent, SaVĀge K’lub performed a striking activation of his space.
“As a collective, the SaVĀge K’lub celebrates diverse art forms and cultures, engaging in collaborative efforts to acti.VĀ.te individuals and objects and explore notions of hospitality, sovereignty, queer identities to celebrate all forms of art and culture.”
The installation is conceptually based on a paepae, a concept found in various forms and functions throughout the Moana Nui (the region of the Pacific Ocean). Paepae exist outside the main marae (communal or sacred space), forming a threshold across which things pass back and forth. Paepae are often used to ceremonially reveal a village’s measina (cultural treasures). In Aotearoa, it is also a place for ceremonial speeches and retelling; remembering histories and genealogies—bringing the past alive in the present.
Te Paepae Aora’i is a place to present cultural treasures, both static and living, artistic and ceremonial. A place to create new memories; and construct our past, present and future: “A place where the gods cannot be fooled.”
With a two-hour performance, Rosanna Raymond, Precious Clark, Numa Mackenzie, Thomas Carroll, Salvador Brown, and Tahiari’i Pariente stirred up the space and echoed the multiple paths of yesterday and today, opening up an ocean of possibilities and futures for the region’s native peoples.
For the word is now in the natives’ camp, and it’s actually quite interesting that this emergence in the region of a Tahitian artist has come about through SaVĀge K’lub. Firstly, because the proposals of Rosanna Raymond and her collective are totally consistent with the work of Tahe Drollet, and this reflects the need of Polynesians, whether Maori or Tahitian, to seize the narrative. But also because, until now, Tahitians have not been present in institutional exhibitions on this scale.
And it’s all the more interesting that this installation by SaVĀge K’lub was commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) for the exhibition Gauguin’s World, Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao. This context may call for several controversial reactions, but by inviting artists from the region to “respond” to Gauguin, the NGA has enabled the explosion of multiple avenues, opened up several perspectives. In many respects, this exhibition and related events are courageous, and the NGA, Marguerite Lai, and Tahe Drollet have demonstrated that Tahitians are now ready to express themselves in the Pacific. All that’s missing now is to add the Marquesans to this adventure, as they were unfortunately left out of this invitation. And above all, even if Gauguin was an inspiring pretext, it’s time we were able to express ourselves for and by ourselves.