Paul Warere a multi-talented Papuan artist

Paul spends most of his past time painting, carving, creating folk songs, and trying to dig the unwritten story and culture of the indigenous Papuan people.

Now he is working as a member of local government police of West Papua province. Before that he had been working as Treasurer 2 of the field office and the cooperative of PT Perkebunan II Manokwari from 2000 to 2009. It is a state owned Sawit palm plantation company.

Ms. Marice Fonataba is a hard working Papuan woman. She is a professional woven cloth maker. Her talent and skill have been recognized by government officials not only in her town Manokwari but also in other towns such as Biak and Serui. 
West Papua is not only famous of its Sarang Semut and Buah Merah medicines which many people now believe can cure various kinds of diseases.
In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace visited Manokwari (formerly known as Dorey bay) and admired that Papuans were very brilliant artists. In his report, The Malay Archipelago, he was astonished to see that their love of art had existed side by side with their “savage” civilization; tribal wars and cannibalism. Today Papuans are fighting to survive in this 21st century. They pursue what the whole world pursue, modernism, yet the modernity doesn’t change their life habit into individualism and capitalism. They still rely on communal relations, they still love art and struggling to preserve their cultural identity.

Ms. Albertina Doropia Master of Noken Plaiting

Two days ago, I visited a West Papuan artist who is an expert in Noken plaiting. Noken is a traditional Papuan bag. It is made manually of plant fiber or nylon strings. Every tribe in West Papua has his own motifs and plaiting styles. She is Albertina Doropia. Her neighbors usually call her Mama Doropia. She makes noken everyday. The nokens are sold in the market. It takes one week to make a nylon string noken. But if the material is of natural fibers, she needs around one month to make it beginning from cutting pandanus leafs, making the strings to plaiting the bag.

Papuan Painter Lucky Kaikatui

Lucky Kaikatui is a prolific painter. Ironically, art lovers in Indonesia do not recognize him. He lives in Manokwari, a small town in the northern coast of West Papua far from and unnoticed by Indonesian mass media.

The character of this painter is very strong. This can be seen from the lines that he brushes on canvas. They are strong and full of meanings. His schoolmates have called him a brilliant illustrator since he was in the first grade of elementary school of SD Negeri I Manokwari. When the Dutch were still in Manokwari, this school was called Klim en Daal. His first drawing, entitled “Pendekar Si Kapak Hilang” (The warrior of the missing axe), was snatched away by his friends.

In junior high, Lucky’s paintings decorated the library room of his school. After completing his study in junior high, Lucky moved to Jayapura to carry on to high school. Again, in that city, he attracted people’s attention with his paintings. In 1985, he participated in a painting competition of West Papua province for high school and general levels. For high school level he was the best whereas for the general one he won the second winner. His natural talent draw