Simon Gende

Wol long lukluk bilong mi

Review by Tracey Clement

When I was little, my large box of Crayola crayons was one of my prized possessions. I loved to draw and I remember being thrilled that Crayola had thought to provide a “flesh” coloured crayon for drawing people. Of course, the colour of this crayon resembled the skin tone of a Barbie doll more than my own but it would have to do. Even as a child I remember thinking it a bit odd that the only “flesh” crayon was a weird pinkish colour. Other (older) people noticed too and, in 1962, unbeknownst to me (I must have had an outdated box), Crayola changed the name of the “flesh” crayon to “peach” in response to the civil rights movement. Nowadays they sell a special box of multicultural crayons: eight flesh tones that range from beige to dark brown. Colour is political.

Papua New Guinean artist Simon Gende knows this too. Everyone he paints, from the Prime Minister of PNG to Prince William and our own Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has a shade of brown skin. In his solo show, Wol long lukluk bilong mi (How I see the world), Gende’s paintings present an alternative political universe, lifted from the mediated surreality of CNN and filtered through his own reality. In Gende’s world, all the major players are black and all the action takes place in the jungles of PNG. In The Royal Wedding, 2011, Gende paints Prince William and his bride in PNG ceremonial dress. Giving them elaborate feathered headdresses, beads and masks, Gende makes the point that they are simply leaders of another tribe – no more, no less. Likewise, in Leadership Tussle in Australia, 2012, instead of symbolically rattling sabres, the two wannabe PMs take their tribal leadership tussle to another level. Surrounded by huts, dogs and shields depicting the Aussie flag (which could easily double as surf boards), they stand in silhouette shaking actual spears at each other. Gillard makes another appearance in Australian Prime Minister na Opposition Leader i ran away, 2012. This time she is tucked under the arm of a policeman. Tony Abbott clutches her foot as they escape from angry Indigenous protestors.

In some ways, Gende is about as far from the world stage as you can get. He is a village leader with three wives, twelve children and two dozen pigs. When the tourist boats come in, he sells his paintings outside the Bird of Paradise Hotel in Goroka. Gende is untrained as a painter and it would be easy to slot his work into the “outsider” box. But while his style may be naïve, there is nothing uninformed about his translations of international events. He is clearly an avid follower of the news, and rather than just passively absorbing and recording, he forms strong opinions on everything from the assassination of Osama Bin Laden to the deforestation and foreign exploitation of PNG’s assets, gender equality, AIDS prevention and gay marriage.

Wol long lukluk bilong mi was exhibited at Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney, 18 July to 4 August.

Simon Gende, Leadership Tussle in Australia, 2012, acrylic on cloth, 800 x 1120 mm. Courtesy of the artist and Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney.

Simon Gende, The Royal Wedding, 2011, acrylic on cloth, 620 x 1100 mm. “The royal wedding. Prince William and Catherine Middleton are married 24-4-2011 in England.” Courtesy of the artist and Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney.