Newspaper, Cigarettes

Ankave, a primitive tribal village located in Kerema, the capital of Gulf Province, in Papua New Guinea, can only be reached by boat, walking or by helicopter. Ankave people still use hand-made clothes and ornaments: grass skirts, cloaks, and special body decorations. The government of Papua New Guinea provides them with medical care and a basic education (before that, the infant mortality rate was one death per three live births). In exchange, Ankave people, every five years, participate to the democratic election of the Papua New Guinea government. This is the only bridge between them and the modern world: they do not know any other political system in the world.

Given the fact that among Ankave people just one in ten is literate, newspapers are not widespread, and they are used to make long and fragrant cigarettes.

Taking newspapers and cigarettes as fil rouge of the show, the exhibition addresses issues related to contemporary life which is closely intertwined with primitivism and modernity. Modernity has shifted “time of Time" to the “time of Simultaneity”, aiming to create a new world of cohabitation. Is modern life more dangerous than primitive life? We are overwhelmed by information, however individual life is the only mystery that remains unsolved and unexplored. Maybe, if we just focus on figuring out our connection with sky, rivers, plants, we might find our personal and intimate answer.