Sihot’e Nioge - When Skirts Become Artworks

Sihot’e Nioge When Skirts Become Artworks 

Omie Tapa (painted, beaten, bark cloth) Art PNG

The title of this show has cultural and historical reference and does not diminish the sacred nature of nioge or tapa for the Omie people of the remote, rainforest mountains in Oro Province PNG. The Omie people number about 2,000. Their territory is surrounded by traditional enemies who to this day sometimes invade their villages and restrict their movements. The Omie are highly marginalized. 

The Omie origin or creation story includes the making of the first skirt or nioge. When the first man Mina told the first woman Saja to go down to the river, find the right tree, remove its bark and beat it on the river stones, together they were setting up the rituals that began Omie society. Saja came back to Mina wearing the first Omie symbol of their culture, thus sanctifying the first Omie community to develop.

In isolation the Omie continue to develop the most colourful and compositional diverse painted beaten bark cloth in the Pacific region. However they are still relatively unknown. Their tapa art is held in many Australian public collections but they are only now able to tour public regional galleries in Australia.

Their nioge tapa is made from the inner bark or bast of certain rainforest trees and all dyes are from the natural world around them.  In this show you will see the three stages of nioge development from time immemorial until today.

Size

The exhibition is flexible from 33 to 70 linear metres as negotiated with exhibition fee flexible pending size agreed from $3500 to $5,000 plus freight pending location.

Display

Up to ten framed works and up to 42 loose works pending on size require. The curator will accompany the exhibition and help to install given the unusual medium of bark cloth