Brenda Kesi (Ariré) has created an ancestral sihoti’e taliobamë’e (design of the mud) known as wo’ohohe representing the ground-burrowing spider, just as she was taught by her mother, Go’ovino. This design can be traced to the the old Ematé clan village of Enopé which was abandoned due to the 1951 eruption of Huvaimo (Mount Lamington). Brenda recalls how, before that, her mother was taught this design by her mother, Munne. She explains how in the old days of making barkcloths the women had no paints so they would soak the barkcloth in mud, cut the desired pieces and then sew them onto the plain barkcloth. The contrasting effects would result in various bold visual designs. The design was sewn with a bat-wing bone needle and a river reed was shredded to create the sewing thread.  

Title: Wo'ohohe (Ground-burrowing spider)
Artist: Brenda Kesi (Ariré)
Medium: Appliquéd mud-dyed nioge (barkcloth)
Dimensions (cm): 104 x 70cm
Hanging device: Timber dowel attached (sewn on with fabric) with two wire loops on either end to hang on two screws or nails
Catalogue Number: 17-027

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