Bisj poles
3 November to 13 April 2008 in the Great hall of the Tropenmuseum
Sculptures from the rainforest
From 3 November 2007 to 13 April 2008, the Tropenmuseum will be exhibiting 58 bisj poles from New Guinea. These meters-high wooden sculptures are used during centuries-old ancestor-worship rituals of the Asman from New Guinea. These rituals, still performed today, are brought to life in a thrilling combination of light, sound and film.
The Light Hall of the Tropenmuseum will be turned into a forest of monumental poles. The bisj poles, some more than 12 meters high, are made by the Asmat people from the Indonesian province of Papua (the former Dutch New Guinea). They are used during Bisj ceremonies, which are held to commemorate deceased members of the community.
Each pole has its own powers of expression and symbolism, and every sculpture mirrors the world view of the Asmat. The exhibition offers a place for stories from various perspectives: from that of the Asmat, from the anthropological perspective and from the collection-history perspective. The exhibition looks at the Asmat culture and consists of Bisj poles, poetry, film fragments, audio material and photographs.
Events
• 3 November: Museum Night and ‘première’ of the exhibition. For more information and ticket sales: www.n8.nl.
• 11 November: lecture about bisj poles by Kees van den Meiracker, curator for Oceania of
the World Arts Museum of Rotterdam.
• 18 November: lecture about the Asmat by biologist and writer Tijs Goldschmidt.
• 25 November: Papua dance workshop.
The lectures and dance workshop are in Dutch and free of charge (included in the price of museum admission) and begin at 2 PM.
Publication
The richly-illustrated catalogue of the same title was written by Pauline van der Zee and will be available in both Dutch and English. Price: €19.95. Publisher: KIT Publishers. ISBN number of Dutch edition: 978 90 6832 482 2; of English edition: 978 90 6832 478 5.
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