Taloi Havini has been commissioned to create a new iteration of her installation Beroana (shell money) by the Sharjah Art Foundation for their Biennial ‘Tamawuj’ on view until 12 June. Havini’s work resembles a vortex. The shape can be viewed as a comment on the extraction of natural resources for a cash economy connected to Bougainville’s recent mining history (1969-1989) and wider systemic exploitation that continues around the world today. As Havini explained, the “water, crops, earth and food have always have been relevant and the main source of survival for Indigenous peoples and agricultural societies all over the world. All the way from Oceania it is an artwork that is kind of saying, ‘we speak these same urgencies too. Let me share our story!’”
Taloi Havini, Beroana (shell money), porcelain, stoneware, clear glaze, steel wire installation, 220cm Primavera 2015, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia, Sydney Courtesy the artist
