93 be installed and was given a special place in the center of the gallery so that his presence could not be missed. The most important of the opening ceremonies were made by Polynesian representatives standing beside Te Rauparaha. This sort of involvement by representatives of different cultural groups is not unique to this exhibition. The National Gallery has been working in a collaborative relationship with indigenous peoples since before the institution first opened in 1982. Atua is the latest in a series of exhibitions that have resulted from the interaction between NGA staff and indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific region. These interactions are much more than expressions of courtesy and respect. With each exhibition, both the descendants of the people who created the art objects and the museum staff understand more about the role an art museum can play in understanding and supporting a threatened cultural world. Understanding can come about only through involvement, and support can be achieved through understanding the needs of the people, the artworks, and the atua. Atua is an exhibition and a catalog that started as an exploration into the unknown, into a world we Westerners ignore. We see the artworks of Polynesia as beautiful creations, but we frequently neglect the reality for which they were created. Now, looking at the published catalog and walking through the exhibition, I realize that a Westerner can indeed bridge the gap and come to a real understanding of their workings. That said, I’m not sure this is necessarily a good and worthwhile thing to do, for in my experience these atua can be quite active given the right situation, and interacting with them can be a frightening experience. More than anything else, however, they require respect and protection, for although they are gods, today atua are rarely encountered and almost forgotten. Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia Closed 3 August 2014 National Gallery of Australia Canberra nga.gov.au 12 October 2014–4 January 2015 Saint Louis Art Museum www.slam.org Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia By Michael Gunn Published in English by the National Gallery of Australia 156 pages, illustrated in color ISBN 9780642334480 Softcover, AUS $49.95
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