92 FIG. 16 (left): Installation view: unique group of four figures (three males and one female). The penis on each of the male figures is depicted where the umbilicus would be located. The dominant male is in effect both having sexual intercourse with the woman upside down beneath him, while at the same time she is his mother, connected to him by their umbilical cord. Aotearoa (New Zealand). Probably 18th century or earlier. Kunstkamera (Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology), Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 736.120. Photo: Barry Le Lievre, National Gallery of Australia. FIG. 17 (right): Installation view: very interactive stone ti’i figure found near the mouth of the Vaitepiha River at Tautira, on the southeast coast of Tahiti, central Polynesia. Musée de Tahiti et des Îles, Punaauia, Tahiti. 83.10.01. Photo: Barry Le Lievre, National Gallery of Australia. Aboriginal custodians of the land on which the NGA is located, sang and welcomed the Maori Te Rauparaha to their world. This private ceremony took place within a special viewing room located deep within the National Gallery. Te Rauparaha, in the form of his canoe figure, was especially pleased with the honor. Maori elder Graham Anderson of the Tainui Confederation stood beside Te Rauparaha to speak on his behalf. This welcome was followed by special treatment accorded to Te Rauparaha during the installation of the Atua galleries. He was the first figure to piece was to have direct relevance to this central theme and was chosen because of its ability to embody and project spiritual force. To ensure that we would have no problems with the atua we were bringing into the building, we again sought advice from Mahiriki Tangaroa, who suggested that we appoint one of the NGA’s Polynesian atua to be the “boss” of the exhibition. To achieve this we should introduce this particular atua to the indigenous spirit world of Canberra. In April 2014 Paul House and Bill Tompkins, two of the
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