via the Gulf Times, 24 October 2023: The National Museum of Qatar has inaugurated the significant exhibition, “The Shape of Time: Art and Ancestors of Oceania,” in collaboration with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This exhibition showcases over 120 exceptional artworks from The Met’s extensive collection, narrating the story of artistic expression and innovation throughout the Pacific Islands over the centuries.
The artworks are within three thematic sections: “Voyaging and the Ocean”, “Ancestors and the Land”, and “Time and Agency”, with each exploring ideas pertinent to the expansive visual language of Oceanic art and anchors the art in an overarching conceptual landscape.
“Voyaging and the Ocean” showcases a range of landmark works from “Island Southeast Asia”, including important textiles that foreground the extensive networks of maritime trade and exchange that defined early interactions between island groups in the western and northern parts of Oceania.
Ideas about voyaging, vessels, and spiritual journeys are all explored with a particular focus on works from the Asmat region of Western New Guinea, collected by Michael C Rockefeller in 1961.
Source: ‘The Shape of Time: Art and Ancestors of Oceania’ opens at NMoQ – Gulf Times
