MAGIC MASKS AND FIGURES FROM OCEANIA

The Sepik region has been a breeding ground for some of the world's most art-producing cultures. There is probably nowhere on earth for primitive visual art with a more expansive, wild, dramatic and varied expression. The expression of form and colour in Sepik art is often so powerfully expressive and bold that encountering it becomes a confrontation that can hardly leave any human being unaffected, regardless of cultural background. The visual art of the Papuans, their way of creating proportions, their ability to combine abstract patterns with stylized depictions, their choice of colours and materials - it all differs as much from the Western academic tradition, as the African primitive sculpture did. Art here is a ritual spell, with which one tries to master and control the whimsical forces of nature.