The Hunter Spirit
Yipwon Figure
Korewoi River, Angoram, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
C19th or C20th
The Yimam people, who live near the source of the Blackwater River and the nearby Korewori River, are known for their distinctive one-legged sculptures called yipwon. Yipwon display a bold reduction of the human form into an almost two-dimensional plane. Poised on a single leg, they are remarkable for the conception of mass and void formed by the body of opposing curved hooks, which surround a central protrusion. This central element has been interpreted as the heart or soul of the yipwon protected by the hooked ribs, or as a cosmological device of stars around the moon or sun.
These figures, or more specifically, the spirits that inhabited them, assisted in hunting and war. Each figure was carved for a named spirit being and would be kept at the back of the manm ceremonial house. Ritual steps were taken to make the yipwon spirit enter the carved figure, making it ‘alive’ through offerings of magical herbs, lime, the men’s saliva and even their own blood, all of which were applied or smeared onto the figure. It was believed that the spirit of the yipwon went ahead of the hunter or warrior and took their quarry’s spirit, making the pig, cassowary or human easy to be captured and slain. After a successful hunt, blood, meat and liver from the animal were given to the yipwon figure.
[National Gallery of Australia]
Taken in Oceania
(September — December 2018)
The year is 1768, and Britain is in the throes of the Age of Enlightenment. As a group of artists agrees to found the Royal Academy, Captain James Cook sets sail on a voyage of discovery to track the transit of Venus and search for terra australis incognita – the unknown southern continent, as Europeans called it. What Cook and his crew encounter on arrival is a vast number of island civilisations covering almost a third of the world’s surface: from Tahiti in Polynesia, to the scattered archipelagos and islands of Melanesia and Micronesia.
The indigenous populations they met came with their own histories of inter-island trade, ocean navigation, and social and artistic traditions. This spectacular exhibition reveals these narratives – celebrating the original, raw and powerful art that in time would resonate across the European artistic sphere.
Oceania brings together around 200 exceptional works from public collections worldwide, and spans over 500 years. From shell, greenstone and ceramic ornaments, to huge canoes and stunning god images, we explore important themes of voyaging, place making and encounter. The exhibition draws from rich historic ethnographic collections dating from the 18th century to the present, and includes seminal works produced by contemporary artists exploring history, identity and climate change.
[Royal Academy]
The Hunter Spirit
Yipwon Figure
Korewoi River, Angoram, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
C19th or C20th
The Yimam people, who live near the source of the Blackwater River and the nearby Korewori River, are known for their distinctive one-legged sculptures called yipwon. Yipwon display a bold reduction of the human form into an almost two-dimensional plane. Poised on a single leg, they are remarkable for the conception of mass and void formed by the body of opposing curved hooks, which surround a central protrusion. This central element has been interpreted as the heart or soul of the yipwon protected by the hooked ribs, or as a cosmological device of stars around the moon or sun.
These figures, or more specifically, the spirits that inhabited them, assisted in hunting and war. Each figure was carved for a named spirit being and would be kept at the back of the manm ceremonial house. Ritual steps were taken to make the yipwon spirit enter the carved figure, making it ‘alive’ through offerings of magical herbs, lime, the men’s saliva and even their own blood, all of which were applied or smeared onto the figure. It was believed that the spirit of the yipwon went ahead of the hunter or warrior and took their quarry’s spirit, making the pig, cassowary or human easy to be captured and slain. After a successful hunt, blood, meat and liver from the animal were given to the yipwon figure.
[National Gallery of Australia]
Taken in Oceania
(September — December 2018)
The year is 1768, and Britain is in the throes of the Age of Enlightenment. As a group of artists agrees to found the Royal Academy, Captain James Cook sets sail on a voyage of discovery to track the transit of Venus and search for terra australis incognita – the unknown southern continent, as Europeans called it. What Cook and his crew encounter on arrival is a vast number of island civilisations covering almost a third of the world’s surface: from Tahiti in Polynesia, to the scattered archipelagos and islands of Melanesia and Micronesia.
The indigenous populations they met came with their own histories of inter-island trade, ocean navigation, and social and artistic traditions. This spectacular exhibition reveals these narratives – celebrating the original, raw and powerful art that in time would resonate across the European artistic sphere.
Oceania brings together around 200 exceptional works from public collections worldwide, and spans over 500 years. From shell, greenstone and ceramic ornaments, to huge canoes and stunning god images, we explore important themes of voyaging, place making and encounter. The exhibition draws from rich historic ethnographic collections dating from the 18th century to the present, and includes seminal works produced by contemporary artists exploring history, identity and climate change.
[Royal Academy]