Rosanna Raymond, prominent artist of Samoan decent, explains here an ‘activation’ of the Poutokomanawa figure, recently de-installed from the Body Adorned exhibition at the Horniman.

Poutokomanawa

Pou - post        Toko - to support, prop up        Manawa - the heart of a person

I first met the Poutokomanawa at a meeting with George Nuku and the Wellcome Trust. We had been brought in as cultural advisors for their exhibition on Skin, and he had been in the Wellcome Collection but now resided at the UCL Anthropology teaching collections.

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He was to be displayed for his fine Tā Moko (tattoo). They had planned to exhibit him lying down, this we explained was highly inappropriate, akin to having him laying in state; he was used to standing, an ancestral figure, once supporting the central post for the Whare Tipuna (Ancestral house). Māori meeting houses are the embodiment of the ancestor, they are spaces for tribal gatherings, important meetings, funerals, celebrations, the poutokomanawa bears the weight for the tāhuhu (backbone). He is the heart, as each physical component of the house relates to a part of the human body.

Having worked with taonga (cultural treasures) for many years in museums, I was still stunned by this striking figure. He also brought out feelings I thought I had grappled with by working with museums, but he brought them all to the surface again. Therewas a real sense of violence and loss with him, you could see the saw marks, he seemed so isolated, naked, all we knew is who had bought him and where he resided now.

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He would have once stood, the centre of his universe, fully adorned, most likely feathers and human hair in a top knot, which had been lopped off, along with his penis, maybe a piupiu (a type of kilt) or a korowai cloak to keep him warm, showing his status, and when I saw he had holes in ears I knew would have had something dangling from them. This is the moment I knew I wanted to help readdress him, re adorn him, show him someone cared, not so much an intervention but an acti.VA.tion…creating a space where we could came together activating the Va.

Va: Samoan term for space. It adheres time to space, this space not a linear space, or indeed an empty one, the Va is activated by people, binding people and things together

For me the real ‘art’ of my work is in the activation of the Va relationship with me and the collections, reinvigorating and revibing the taonga or measina through my body, they can live through me, the past and present sharing the same time and space, allowing the works to go, or be ingested outside the confines of the museum space or enclosure.

We've also shared the poem Rosanna wrote for the ceremony, A Poutokomanawa Bypass, on the blog.

The Collections People Stories project has recently been working with local artist Rosanna Raymond. Rosanna is a well known performance artist of Samoan decent who has collaborated with a wide range of museums both here in the UK and internationally.

During January’s de-installation of The Body Adorned to make way for the current exhibition, Amazon Adventure, Rosanna visited the museum to carry out a ceremony for the Poutokomanawa figure, on loan to the museum from University College London.

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The Poutokomanawa is a prominent ancestor figure, once placed at the heart of the Maori meeting house. Objects like these are much more than historical relics; they both represent and embody the ancestors and continue to have an active presence for many Maori communities today.

Rosanna has been a leading voice in Maori and Pacific cultural politics here in the UK, working closely with Ngati Ranana (London Maori Club).

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Since late 2011, the Horniman had been in conversation with Rosanna about her desire to undertake a closing ceremony for Poutokomanawa to safely send him back into storage at UCL. On the day, she recited a specially commissioned poem as he was being lifted from display into his packing box. When Poutokomanawa journeyed back to UCL a week later, he was greeted by Rosanna and her friend and colleague Jo Walsh and a group of UCL anthropology students and staff.

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Much of Rosanna's art work over the years has focused on re-activating taonga (Maori ancestral objects) in museums, giving them a new life and a new context, either through performance or re-adornment.

Rosanna's application and exploration of the Samoan concept of 'Va', the space between things and people, is particularly significant for museum practice. Museums, of course, are more than the objects they house; their ultimate rasion d'etre is to set in motion new activations between people and things, some planned, and even more unexpected.

We'll also be posting Rosanna's account of this activation process and the poem, A Poutokomanawa Bypass, shortly.

This week, the whole museum has been busy preparing for Amazon Adventure.

There's not long to wait until the exhibition opens on Saturday, but until then we've been putting together a few things to help you brush up on your Amazon River knowledge.

Here are our top 7 Amazing Amazon Facts. 

Need reminding of the river's geography? We've put together a Google Map so you can trace its course.

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And our Pinterest Board lets you journey the length of the Amazon, from its source in the Peruvian Andes to its end in the Atlantic Ocean.

To learn more about the world's largest river, come along to Amazon Adventure. It opens on Saturday afternoon at 12.30pm, and tickets are now available to buy online.

Some of our taxidermy specimens have been getting some special treatment ahead of our upcoming Amazon Adventure exhibition.

Charlotte, our conservator, has been working with our Scarlet Macaw and Toucan specimens, to get them looking their best.

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Even when objects have already been on display in the main galleries, moving them gives our Conservation team the perfect chance to check them over. Our Macaw and Toucan needed a bit of a spring clean and a few repairs before they were ready for their next public appearance.

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These two beautiful birds are now preened, prepared and ready for their reappearance in our latest temporary exhibition.

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Charlotte's also written some Conservation Case Studies, so you can find out more about how the Scarlet Macaw and Toucan were treated (and when it's appropriate to give a Macaw a blowdry).

Our London Look photography challenge with Londonist has reached the shortlist stage. 

You can see the 53 photographs shortlisted here. Next week, our judges have the tough task of selecting just 10 photographs to go on display in the museum during September.

What do you think of the shortlist? Which is your favourite?

Our new exhibition - The Body Adorned: Dressing London - opened on Saturday.

Here's a numerical look at the exhibition:

• 1216 days since the exhibition was first proposed (3 years, 4 months - 40 months)
• 365 objects in the exhibition
• 373 years, duration of the Song Dynasty (from 906 - 1279 AD). The oldest (known) object in the exhibition dates from this period.
• 289 days the exhibition will be open for, until 6 January 2012
• 103 urban portraits taken by the project participants
• 77 young people involved in the project
• 68 charms on the Malian charm garment in the exhibition
  
  
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• 58 people in the exhibition's film installation by The Light Surgeons
• 54 materials in the exhibition - for example, bamboo, feather, wood, gold, velvet
• 53 countries where objects are in the exhibition come from
• 48 cigarette cards
• 27 prints
• 22cm - length of the exhibition's smallest object - a brooch
  
  
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• 21 instruments relating to tattooing
• 15 combs
• 5 objects are already on display in Musuem - all the others come from our stored collections.
• 4 American states are represented in the exhibition: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Pennsylvania
• 4 areas of London in which the film installation was made: Brick Lane, Chelsea, The City, Peckham
• 1 kilt
• 1 wig
• 1 walking stick

The launch for our new exhibition - The Body Adorned: Dressing London - took place last night with special guest Vivienne Westwood. Here are tweets and photos from the night.

 

Our Body Adorned is one of many parts - it explores many different cultures, many different ways of adorning our bodies, and looks at history and the present in London.

One part of the exhibition which looks at contemporary ways of dressing in London is a number of wardrobe studies. Two of these wardrobes show what young people wear now and why.

A few weeks ago, our youth panel went shopping to Westfield in Stratford, along with exhibition co-curator Wayne Modest, to buy a series of outfits for the wardrobes.

Take a look at the video below to see a preview of what they bought.

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These pictures are part of our new exhibition The Body Adorned which opens next month. The exhibtion explores how the ways we dress and style our bodies have become part of London life across times and cultures.

So, with London Fashion Week upon us, we've been wondering whether there is a London Look.

To think about this, our youth panel went out and about, to ask people "what is the London Look?"

Listen to the responses below - some people spoke about a individual, hipster look. Some people said that Londoners are not all the same, whereas others spoke about London style being casual, unique, multicultural.
 

What is the London look? (mp3)

We then spoke to some people involved in the fashion industry - menswear designer and blogger Nick Bain and stylist and blogger Sabrina Bangladesh.

They spoke about individuality, experimentation and how the social mix of London makes up the London Look.

 

What is the London look? (mp3)

Finally, The Body Adorned exhibition co-curator Wayne Modest discusses these ideas a little more - to think about whether there really is a London look.
 

What is the London look? (mp3)

 

So, what do you think? Is there a London look? What is the London look? 

Let us know by leaving a comment or tweet by clicking this link or tell us on facebook. We'll compile your answers together, to help define London's style.

Our Learning and Exhibitions departments have helping year 11 (age 15/16) Art & Design, Digital Publishing, Music and Media students from Abbey Manor College (Lewisham's secondary pupil referral unit)  to create a lively exhibition in response to our collections.