Fanny Wonu Veys: ‘I want to introduce students to the art history of Oceania’
Fanny Wonu Veys was appointed Professor of Art and Material Culture of Oceania on 1 August. Time for an introduction.
‘When people think of “Oceania”, they initially think of Australia,’ says Veys. 'But the term covers a much larger region: it also includes New Zealand, Polynesia and Micronesia and stretches from Hawaii to New Guinea and just south of the Philippines.
In my research, I focus on Polynesia. What you see with this archipelago is that, despite the great distance across the sea, there has been a lot of intensive contact between the different islands. As a result, there are actually many similarities on a cultural level. That's what makes this area so interesting.'
World Museum curator
In addition to her professorship, Veys is active at the World Museum, where she is curator for Oceania. ‘It is sometimes difficult to capture such a geographically large and diverse area in one exhibition or display,’ Veys explains. ‘But that shared cultural identity especially in its relation to the ocean, does ensure that there are issues I can use as a curator to present a coherent whole.’
Her experience at the World Museum also prepared Veys for her professorship. 'In that work, I regularly come into contact with art history students. My conversations with them tend to reveal that the art history of areas such as Oceania and Africa receives little treatment. As a professor, I want to change this: I want to introduce my students to a culture that has a substantially different art history from that of the West.'
Ancestors
‘In Western art expressions, the community connection with the art objects is not so strong,’ Veys explains. 'In Oceania, communities see art as a way to stay in touch with their ancestors, for example. Art there is not only aesthetic, but often social and religious in nature.'
Such an essentially different perception of art also raises questions, questions that need to be asked and answered according to Veys. 'How do you deal with art if it is seen as sacred by certain groups and should only be perceived by initiated men? Is it then right to exhibit the object - or an image of it - in a museum? And how does this affect our Western view of what art is? These are the practical and theoretical questions that arise when faced with a different perception of art. I would like to help my students think about that.'