What is paradise? The Pacific Islands are often thought of as a permanently idyllic place full of white sand beaches, palm trees, and tourism. Curator of the Museum of Anthropology, Dr. Carol Mayer, explains, “The Pacific is thought of as one place that is slightly dangerous, but not really, and the point is actually that isn’t the Pacific. It is large and complicated with thousands of cultures and languages.” The contemporary artists featured in Paradise Lost? have taken on the idea of paradise and are challenging it to set the record straight: “We’re not what you think we are.”

Thirteen artists from Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu explore, through diverse media, themes of cultural heritage, the environment, migration and diaspora, and the confluence of their belief systems with western religions. Their culture is “expressed with just about every material, and each has its own method of speaking,” explains Mayer.

The title of the exhibition is multi-layered, with allusions to Milton’s Paradise Lost and the allegory of the evil snake as the impact of colonialism on the Pacific Islands. The exhibit also questions what paradise is, and asserts that perhaps everyone has their own interpretation. The “lost” refers to the reality of these places being overtaken by Hollywood and tourism, as well as growing environmental concerns.

We’re not what you think we are.”

– Paradise Lost? artists

The way that the exhibition is scattered throughout the museum requires a map, which gives visitors the experience of being lost or disoriented. Although it ended up that way as the result of another show occupying the gallery space, it has created a tangible, physical sense of being lost.

Along with the exhibition at the museum, two artists are also featured at the Satellite Gallery downtown. Mayer described Shigeyuki Kihara’s amazing video installation: “It’s an analogy between the tsunami in Samoa and colonialism showing that they both cause destruction.”

Coinciding with the Pacific Arts Association Symposium at MOA, this exhibition has a wide range of styles and shows the diversity of contemporary art from the Pacific Islands. One of the most memorable pieces is the giant styrofoam cube by Maori artist George Nuku in collaboration with Haida/Squamish artist Cory Douglas. With a mixture of Haida and Maori designs, the hollow cube has many intricate cut-outs that have been carved to mimic the traditional wooden pieces surrounding it in the MOA’s Great Hall.

Another large structure is the plexiglass sculpture by Nuku that fits right in against the glass wall of the museum amongst the wooden totem poles. There are also many paintings, including the colourful work of Pax Jakupa that is used on the promotional brochures. Some of the artists also used textiles or other materials in their work, notably Rosanna Raymond and her garments which were made in an on-site workshop, and Te Rongo Kirkwood’s ceremonial cloaks made of hundreds of fragments of coloured glass. Another impressive work is Cathy Kata’s Bilum, a woven sac made of recycled coffee sac fibre and decorated with candy wrappers, shells, and feathers.

Just outside the gift shop is a beautiful totem pole that was also created onsite: Clan Pole by Teddy Balangu was carved in the Great Hall out of a European Birch taken from the UBC grounds.

What makes this exhibition unique is the context of each piece. Placed amidst much older works of art, a dialogue is created, often with a very strong sense of belonging. With such diversity in styles and materials, Paradise Lost? provides a vision of the Pacific from the perspective of its contemporary artists, and it is clear from their work that there is no one true ‘paradise.’