Bilong Papua New Guinea

Reflecting on 50 years of Independence

Collection Display
Sep 2025 – Jun 2026
Level 2, Gallery 21
Free
A photo of Mathias Kauage's colourful screenprint

Mathias Kauage, Independence Celebration I., 1975, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2005, Ulli and Georgina Beier Collection. © approved by Elisabeth Kauage

About

To mark the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence Bilong Papua New Guinea showcases the National Gallery’s remarkable collection of art from PNG across various media, including sculptures, prints, bark-cloths and bilums.

The exhibition celebrates Papua New Guinea’s diverse artistic expressions, examining the impact of colonisation and the evolution of national identity through artists’ perspectives post-independence.

This display delves into themes of cultural continuity and change. It explores the emergence of contemporary artistic practices that depart from traditional modes, as well as examining political contexts, the introduction of new technologies and the impact of Christianity on ancestral spiritual beliefs and kastom.

Curator: Crispin Howarth, Curator, Pacific Art

Works of Art

Figures riding a tandem bicycle in paint, ink and drawing

Elizabeth Kauage, Untitled (tandem), 2001, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, gift of Rosemary Oxer 2023

A colourful painting of a man and a woman

John Danger, Chimbu people, Untitled (man and woman), 2000, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, gift of Rosemary Oxer 2023

Screenprint in blue and yellow inks

Tiabe, Crucifix., October 1968, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, ulli and Georgina Beier Collection, purchased 2005

Vividly Multicoloured print of Traditional Papua New Guinean human and plant figures forming the shape of a car

Mathias Kauage, Independence celebration 4., 1975, screenprint, printed in colour inks, from seven screens, 50.2 h cm, 76.4 w cm, Ulli and Georgina Beier Collection, purchased 2005.

Drawing in gouache of two people at a disco.

John Siune, Kuman, Disko man na meri, 1993, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 1995

A photo of Mathias Kauage's colourful screenprint

Mathias Kauage, Independence Celebration I., 1975, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2005, Ulli and Georgina Beier Collection. © approved by Elisabeth Kauage

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