XV 66 // XV Papua New Guinea

XV 66 - Tumbu, Hangu, Peter, Hapiya, Kati, Hengene & Steven - Huli Wigmen, Ambua Falls, Tari Valley - Papua New Guinea, 2010

Available Size:
55.11" x 102.36" - Artist Proof

Papua is where we started our two-month trip in Oceania. As a region it’s a lot easier to travel through than New Guinea, because it’s part of Indonesia and therefore a lot safer. In total, we went to three different areas and out of all three, Papua has to be one of the only parts of the world where there’s so much variety. It’s an ethnographic goldmine, and we have only scratched the surface.

"Most of the other places we had knowledge of, but in this case we had zero. We went there on a wing and a prayer"

While the trip over mountains and through swamps was physically very arduous, it wasn’t very dangerous. So we decided to travel over land into Papua New Guinea as opposed to via the capitals. Thinking we’d continue to have the wind in our backs, we then got stopped at the border and ended up waiting for ten days before we finally got cleared by customs.