Georgina Beier worked with early PNG artists and the brilliance of
the culturally true work that she encouraged in them inspired the
creation of the National Art School in Port Moresby. Recently she
visited a small exhibition of Wkeng’s art and said:
I was
deeply surprised when I saw his drawings because they are deeply
individual, unlike anything else I have seen, it’s a new mind. They make
you smile. The work is very intricate, and the craftsmanship is
amazing, the lines flow. It is very competent and confident work. It is
full of life, this is a beautiful person making those drawings. The
impact of the works stays in my mind. He is a true artist, he really is,
and unique.’ 14th May 2019
Manfred Wkeng Aseng was born at Sblben (Place of many Cordylines) in the month of harvesting gourds (March /April). He is a Kalam speaker from the Kaironk Valley, in the Bismark Schrader Ranges in Papua New Guinea. His father Meyang died in 1954, shortly after making Wkeng a small bow and arrows for hunting. His elder sister, sorry for his tears at the grave took him to where she lived with her husband at Kulmdek in the Assai Valley. Sometime later he was brought back to his mother Papyb and continued to grow up at Gobnem with her and his mother siblings and other family. He is an excellent hunter and has inherited large forest lands with highland pandanus. He also has land at Womk near the Wañlek archeological site which is is very concerned to prorect.
When Wkeng Aseng first came to the National Art School of Papua New Guinea, Tom Cray, Head of the school, advised him .... 'You must not change the way you draw or follow other artists. You must go on drawing and painting in your own way.’ Wkeng has consistently maintained his own vision and has developed a style, that while deeply based in his traditional world, uses techniques such as pen, paper, flat surfaces etc that were unknown in Kalam Culture. Kalam art forms consist of designs burnt into shields, spears, bamboo nodes and headbands. They also weave armbands, belts, string bags and Walj (men's skirts') Until 1965 facial tattooing was also an art form of the Kalam people. Clearly their most flamboyant artistic expression may be seen in body decoration. Seeds, feathers, fur, beetles, flowers and leaves are just a few of the objects used to create the most elaborate ceremonial headdress and costumes.
Wkeng holds a unique position amongst current contemporary Papua New Guinea artists. Due to the remote location of the Kalam country there was no European presence till after Wkeng's youth, and for some time the effects of colonisation were limited. Wkeng therefore has lived a mostly traditional life and it is the influences of this life that are reflected in these drawings. It is this background that makes the work of Wkeng Aseng so unique, allowing him to approach the flat surface and the medium of pen and paper 'without prejudice'. The result - an Exhibition of Contemporary work drawn from a Traditional Heart.
For more about Manfred Wkeng and drawings from his daughter, please go to Cultures from within.