Tantanu and Paopiahe - Siuai Creation Story, 2003

by Dennis Nona

Print : linocut 43.9 x 29.9 inch

$4,743
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About the artwork

Type

Numbered and limited to 99 copies

1 copy available

Signature

Not Signed

Authenticity

Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the gallery

Invoice from the gallery


Medium

Print: linocut

Dimensions cm inch

43.9 x 29.9 inch Height x Width x Depth

Framing

Not framed


Tags

Aboriginal art

Animal

Wild animals

Australia

Mythology

Imaginary landscape

Black

Green

Artwork sold in perfect condition

Artwork location: France

This print by Dennis Nona retraces the different episodes of a legend dear to his people.

In Kupuna times (the time of the ancient spirits), Tantanu (the creator) promised his grandchildren to teach them how to perform a task without having to do it physically. For this, he decided to travel to the island of Siuai. Along the way, he met some children whom he told to cook a pot and slipped inside and then escaped. When the cooking was finished the children found taro, yams and bananas. They made the inhabitants of their village taste these foods, who found them delicious. Tantanu then gave them seedlings to put in the ground. It is since this time that one can find in Siuai taro, yams and bananas growing in the wild, proof that one can obtain food from the land without having to cultivate it.

This creation story was told to the artist by Alex Dawia. Its transcription into a work of art is the fruit of the collaboration between Alex, of Siuai descent and Dennis, who comes from the island of Badu. The Siuai region extends between the south east of Bougainville and the west of the Samoa Islands. In the Kupuna period (the time of the ancient spirits), Tantanu (the creator) did something that made Paopiahe very angry: he promised his grandchildren that he would teach them to perform a task without having to do it physically. , trees could be cut down and cleaned up, plants could grow just by telling them to. This way of doing displeased Paopiahe that he lured Tantanu away to tell him this: "It is very bad to promise such things to your grandchildren, I will not see you anymore. Go now and do not stop walk until I can't see you anymore. So Tantanu went east along the beach.

After a while he stopped to rest but Paopiahe shouted, "Keep walking, I can still see you." This time Tantanu kept walking and bent the trees behind him to hide from Paopiahe but still, the next time he stopped, Paopiahe shouted, "Keep walking, I can still see you. You won't be don't rest until you're completely out of my sight." Tantanu continued walking until noon when he came to a place called Siuai where he saw children. "Who lives here ?" he asked them. "We" they replied. "So where did your parents go?". "They went into the forest to bring back food."
Tantanu then told them to cook a pot and slipped inside then escaped. When the cooking was finished the children found taro, yams and bananas. They made the inhabitants of their village taste these foods, who found them delicious. Tantanu then gave them seedlings to put in the ground. It is since this time that we can find in Siuai taro, yams and bananas that grow in the wild.
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About the seller

Professional art gallery • France

Artsper seller since 2013

Vetted Seller


Collector’s Guide

Dennis Nona

Dennis Nona

Australia  • 1973

Dennis Nona was born in 1973 on the Badu Island. He comes from the Torres Strait, from one of the two ?indigenous? communities in Australia (in the Northern part of the continent).

He is a print artist and a sculptor and, through his art, he tells the legends of his people. He is considered to be one of the best representatives of Australian printmaking. His favorite techniques are the linocut and the aquatint; he uses these techniques because he thinks the texture of the paper, the fabrication techniques and the ink and pigments give strength to the universe he creates.

Dennis Nona reinterprets the patterns of the traditional mask drawings that evoke the legends of the Torres Strait and of Papua New Guinea, so his artworks are veritable ?chanson de gestes?.

His works are unique combinations of traditional totemic representations that often have marine subjects (turtles, fish, lobsters), of invented shapes and characters that seem to come from Hieronymus Bosch?s paintings, and subtle arabesques as a background for these narratives.

Beyond its visual dimesion, the graphic work of Dennis Nona is a ?defense and illustration? of the culture of his native region.
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