NorthSite is delighted to announce that the ‘m e r i’ project by Wendy Mocke will be reinvigorated at Brisbane Powerhouse from the 25th May to 25 June 2022 presented by WOW (Women of the World) Australia. The ‘m e r i’ project, was first presented on Gimuy Walubara Yindiji country and Yirrganydji country through Northsite Contemporary Arts within Bulmba-ja Arts Centre.
The ‘m e r i’ project is a powerful exhibition of photographs and stories, initiated from years of conversations with young Papua New Guinean women. Whilst unpacking questions surrounding cultural identity and Black womanhood, the artist encountered a recurring theme: Young PNG women often feel silenced and actively fight against a limited vision of what is deemed possible for themselves. The common portrayal of PNG women in western media is often associated with tragedy or poverty. It is the harmful nature or the western gaze that minimises the full breadth and complexity or the Melanesian woman.
This creative project focuses on the re-contextualizing of PNG women. Its aim is to find innovative ways for PNG women to define themselves. To speak their truth to power, without fear of erasure.