Aja By Weniki Hensch

Aja

A solo exhibition by: Weniki Hensch

'Aja', the word meaning mother in Orokaiva, follows the starting process and progress of learning the language of Weniki’s birth mothers country. Orokaiva, the language of the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea.

After meeting her birth mother for the first time in Papua New Guinea in 2010, Aja is part of Hensch’s journey connecting to country and exploring its culture and traditions. Weniki describes Aja as a ceramic translation of the journey she and Florizel (her daughter) have commenced to learn the language.

“Working with clay struck a chord with me. The concept of working with a piece of the land and the energy it holds. The importance of the role of clay as it transmutes through stories, cooking and ceremony in community and Orokaiva life, much like the use of language…. It’s full circle for me. And so you’ll find a lot of circles within the work, symbolising family, community and connecting to country. I’m learning more about the traditional ways of making and using ceramic vessels within community settings,” Hensch says.

The works explore the facets of progression & production with the learning of language & the use of clay in community, ceremony & the translation of energy. The matriarchal focus leading the continuity & flow of the works & how they respond & interact with the intergenerational language journey.
About

Weniki Hensch is a Papau New Guinean born multidisciplinary artist. Her works explore the themes of motherhood and the consistently evolving relationship between mother and daughter.

Saturday October 12th, 2–3pm
Artist floor talk

Sunday October 20th, 2–3pm
Clay Play

In addition to her artist talk, Hensch is holding a afternoon workshop of intergenerational clay play, encouraging families to walk through the exhibition with her and learn hand coiling, translating their own connection to family and language.

Blak Dot is proud to present another exhibition in our series of celebrations for this year’s United Nations 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages and the important role language plays in our daily lives.