Inspired by a line that the late Bougainvillean statesman Moses Havini (1947 – 2015) wrote in a love letter in the 1960s, Shared Aspirations revisits an exhibition of work by his daughter Taloi, presented at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2023. At Taloi’s request, this exhibition included work by her mother Marilyn, the recipient of the letter.

An Australian by birth, Marilyn was adopted into her husband Moses Havini’s clan in 1970.  Marilyn supported Moses as representative of the Interim Government of Bougainville during their exile in Sydney. The couple played a key role in the Bougainville Peace Process enabling them to return to live on ancestral lands in 2000. Throughout her life, painting remained at the core of Marilyn’s identity and her artworks provide personal and deep insights into a wider story of what shared aspirations mean for her and the people of Bougainville.

Her daughter Taloi was born in Arawa, Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Taloi graduated from the Australian National University School of Art in 2003 and since then has created an award winning, international reputation for ambitious and often site-specific work informed by her matrilineal ties to land and communities in Bougainville.

Bringing together archives, video, and paintings, Shared Aspirations is presented at a critical juncture in Bougainville’s journey towards Independence inviting us to share the art of two women whose lives have both contributed to – and been shaped by – the Bougainville’s people’s pursuit of cultural, economic and political self- determination.

Warning: Please be aware that this exhibition contains images of deceased people. Please also be mindful that the content contains documentation of human rights abuses that may be confronting for some audience members.

Shared Aspirations celebrates the work of two artists from Bougainville and Australia, inviting Cairns audiences to share connections to place and people through art and storytelling. ”
Ruth McDougall, Curator