TRIBAL people
sent it on to the natural history museum in
Stuttgart, where a paleontologist identifi ed it as a
hand axe. It’s still on my table today and it brings
back wonderful memories. I think it truly and
undeniably marked my life as a collector.
N.G.: I’m noticing a lot of bones, skulls, and
shrunken heads in your collection. Some people
would fi nd these repulsive, but they seem to
fascinate you. What do you see in them?
S.P.: My interest in heads and skulls goes back
to my zoology studies. I was fascinated with
the anatomy of craniums, both human and
animal, and especially, of course, with what they
contained. Customs are so rich and varied. Some
cultures preserve the skulls of their ancestors.
Others choose to preserve those of their enemies,
because a shaman in a trance state gave them a
path to follow in order to ensure balance and
peace in their societies.
N.G.: Do you have a kind of respect or veneration
for these objects and, by extension, for your
ancestors?
S.P.: I like the fact that these skulls remind me that
we are on this wonderful earth of ours for only a
very brief period of time. We are ephemeral, and
these objects are a lesson in humility. By collecting
korwars, which symbolize the “spirits of the
dead,” I have the sense that I am preserving some
of their wisdom and am in some way maintaining
a connection with them. Their aesthetic qualities
make them true memento mori for me.
N.G.: Have your travels been infl uenced by these
interests?
S.P.: Absolutely. When I fi nished university, I
had the opportunity to work on a project for the
University of Auckland on Little Barrier Island. I
discovered the museum’s storage and its wealth of
Maori objects, including the wakahuia treasure
boxes that held the feathers of the sacred huia
bird, and those really fanned the fl ames of my
interest in tribal art. It was a revelation that
profoundly affected my perception of life and
indeed altered all my perspectives.
After that trip, I went on to discover the Cook
Islands, Fiji, and Papua. Later on, while working
for the Weltvogelpark Walsrode Foundation, a
large ornithological park in Northern Germany, I
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