These sculptures are representative of one of the most important forms of art making in Vanuatu and are made from breadfruit, ferns and local fibres. The mague sculptures play a central role within the contemporary articulation of kastom in North Ambrym. Ambrymese society is structured around chiefs who rise through a series of grades. Each rise in rank is marked by a ceremony and the creation of a sculpture, and each work is unique, based on the chief’s social position at the time. http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/apt6/artists/vanuatu_sculptors

Cath on 20th January 2010 @ 3:44am