ART on view 88 always go as planned, especially as there was another collector active at the time who paid slightly higher rates for transportation.7 By late January 1973 Charpentier returned to Port Vila, where he was immediately hospitalized for two weeks—the effects of malaria, dysentery, and hook worm infection (which, though yet to be diagnosed, had set into his lungs and was experienced as a series of stomach aches) had taken their toll. Subsequently, he was frequently ill during his collecting trips and his health was markedly affected by the mountainous terrain, the humidity, monsoonal rains, trekking for up to eleven hours a day, and bouts of malarial fever and colic. His physical state forced him to limit his Malakulan trips to two-week periods. During the same month Charpentier returned to Malakula after his release from medical care, in Australia the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board, on whose behalf he was acting, was dissolved. The reorganization and restructure of the future National Gallery of Australia’s agenda resulted in the Ethnic Art Field Collecting Program coming to a halt and responsibility for the program dissipated. Charpentier’s mission was considered to be of little significance, so much so that it was left unaddressed and, unaware of the events in Australia, he continued his collecting activities. Today the story of Charpentier’s field collecting is not a complete one. Field diaries for the last six months of his contract are yet to be located, as are other resources relating to the project. Pretty’s involvement in overseeing the Ethnic Art Program led to various archival materials being stored at the South Australian Museum, where, luckily enough, a number of negatives and slides taken by Charpentier have been located. As the contract came to its conclusion Charpentier arranged for the collection to be packed and crated for its journey to Australia. Unfortunately, the best packing material at hand was toilet tissue and all the available rolls in the Lamap trade store were purchased. Not only was this action disagreeable to the residents of Lamap, it was also problematic for the objects. Humidity caused the thin tissue to adhere to the clay overmodeling on many of the items. Over thirteen crates arrived at the National Gallery of Australia’s temporary art repository in November 1973. The objects had suffered terribly during transit and several were damaged beyond any hope of restoration. This was depressing news and the collection lay in storage untouched for decades. FIG. 12: Meleun. Created by Mansip, c. 1973. Vetpao village, Malakula Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Wood, vegetable clay, ochre, tree fern, fiber. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.180. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. The meleun grade level once existed across all of southern Malakula, even in villages that have long been Christianized. The title of meleun is one of great respect. To enter this grade, two prized pigs with circular tusks are sacrificed during the grade ceremony. The figure’s face is painted with the same patterns that the grade-taker would be adorned with during the ceremony. The meleun’s body is made from a tree with many roots and symbolizes the beginning of life for everything.
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