Christopher Ulutupu<br/> <em>The Fall</em> 2022 <!-- (video still) --><br /> two-channel colour video, sound<br /> 28 min 9 sec<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by The JTM Foundation, Katherine and James Murray and NGV Supporters of First Nations Art, 2025<br /> 2025.15<br /> © courtesy of the artist, represented by Jhana Millers Gallery <!--155727-->

Art of the Pacific

From the NGV Collection

NGV International

Level 2

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Re-opening Fri 3 Apr 2026

Open daily 10am–5pm

Temporarily closed due to installation

This display brings together works by artists and designers from Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia (including the Torres Strait). Spanning diverse periods, places and media – including photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, video, fashion, tapa and lei – these works explore both contemporary innovation and the preservation of customary cultural practices. Seen together, these works highlight the vitality of art from the Pacific, and its role as a powerful vehicle for storytelling, ceremony, resistance and the transmission of culture across generations.

NGV CollectionNGV InternationalPacific Art

Select works

Fiona PARDINGTON<br/> <em>Portrait of a life cast of Matoua Tawai, Aotearoa New Zealand</em> 2010 <!-- (recto) --><br /> inkjet print<br /> 145 x 108.8 cm (image) 176.2 x 139.8 x 4.5 cm (frame sized)<br /> ed. 10/10<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by the Bowness Family Fund for Contemporary Photography, 2012<br /> 2012.261<br /> © Fiona Pardington <!--104237--> Fiona PARDINGTON
Portrait of a life cast of Matoua Tawai, Aotearoa New Zealand
 2010 Reuben Paterson<br/> <em>A Crucifixion</em> 2012 <!-- (recto) --><br /> glitter and synthetic polymer paint on canvas<br /> 195.1 x 300.1 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, NGV Contemporary, 2012<br /> 2012.335<br /> © Reuben Paterson, courtesy Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland <!--104416--> Reuben Paterson
A Crucifixion
 2012 Tui Emma Gillies<br /> Sulieti Fieme'a Burrows<br/> <em>Pacifika Ocean</em> 2024 <!-- (recto) --><br /> Tongan feta'aki (tapa cloth), umea (red earth from Falevai, Vava'u) tapioca starch (organic glue), synthetic polymer paint, ink and vintage kupesi<br /> (195.0 x 175.0 cm)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family and Christopher Thomas AM and Cheryl Thomas, 2024<br /> 2024.983<br /> © Tui Emma Gillies and Sulieti Fieme'a Burrows <!--155675--> Tui Emma Gillies Sulieti Fieme'a Burrows
Pacifika Ocean
 2024 Michael PAREKOWHAI<br/> <em>The Bosom of Abraham #1</em> (2004) <!-- (recto) --><br /> screenprinted vinyl, metal, plastic, flourescent bulb, electrical components<br /> 131.0 x 21.5 x 7.3 cm<br /> ed. 5/7<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Gift of Chris Deutscher and Karen Woodbury through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2018<br /> 2018.793<br /> © courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney <!--135109--> Michael PAREKOWHAI
The Bosom of Abraham #1
 (2004) Kebali<br/> <em>Diwaka (Drum)</em> (c. 1970) <!-- (front view) --><br /> earth pigments on wood, wallaby skin, bamboo, cane, resin<br /> 183.8 x 18.0 cm diameter<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by Elizabeth Pryce, Member, 2000<br /> 2000.275<br /> © the artist <!--67351--> Kebali
Diwaka (Drum)
 (c. 1970) Chris Charteris<br/> <em>Mwaen te utu (Garland for my family – Nikunau)</em> 2006 {designed}; 2016 {made} <!-- (full view) --><br /> venus shells (Venus sp.), stainless steel, rope, inkjet print<br /> (a-b) 140.0 x 174.5 x 15.5 cm (overall) (installed)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased NGV Foundation Patrons, 2016<br /> 2016.225.a-b<br /> © Chris Charteris <!--120705--> Chris Charteris
Mwaen te utu (Garland for my family – Nikunau)
 designed 2006; made 2016 Kirsten LYTTLE<br/> <em>Kahu Whakaahua cloak</em> (2022-2023) <!-- (full view) --><br /> inkjet prints, cotton, linen, emu feathers<br /> 148.0 x 90.6 x 44.5 cm (overall)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2023<br /> 2023.189<br /> © Kirsten Lyttle <!--149731--> Kirsten LYTTLE
Kahu Whakaahua cloak
 (2022-2023) DORIS DE PONT, Auckland (fashion house)<br /> Doris DE PONT (designer)<br /> Margo BARTON (milliner)<br /> Sofia TEKELA-SMITH<br/> <em>Outfit: Habanero halter top, Pacific pleats skirt, Hibiscus, feather and Pule headpiece and Towards a ship of new arrivals... necklace</em> 2003 {Let’s gather here collection, winter 2004} <!-- (front view) --><br /> polyester, video tape, transparent synthetic polymer resin, vinyl, cotton thread, mother-of-pearl<br /> (a) 55.0 cm (centre back) 37.0 cm (waist, flat) (top) (b) 97.0 (centre back) 37.5 cm (waist, flat) (skirt) (c) 25.0 cm (height) 46.0 cm (waist, flat) (titi) (d) 7.5 x 18.0 x 29.0 cm (headpiece) (e) 28.5 x 18.0 x 1.6 cm (necklace) (f) 4.0 x 8.0 x 7.5 cm (bangle)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased NGV Foundation, 2008<br /> 2008.248.a-f<br /> <!--87053--> DORIS DE PONT, Auckland (fashion house) Doris DE PONT (designer) Margo BARTON (milliner) Sofia TEKELA-SMITH
Outfit: Habanero halter top, Pacific pleats skirt, Hibiscus, feather and Pule headpiece and Towards a ship of new arrivals... necklace
 2003 {Let’s gather here collection, winter 2004} Christopher Ulutupu<br/> <em>The Fall</em> 2022 <!-- (video still) --><br /> two-channel colour video, sound<br /> 28 min 9 sec<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by The JTM Foundation, Katherine and James Murray and NGV Supporters of First Nations Art, 2025<br /> 2025.15<br /> © courtesy of the artist, represented by Jhana Millers Gallery <!--155727--> Christopher Ulutupu
The Fall
 2022 Paula Savage<br/> <em>Vegetation</em> 2017 <!-- (front view) --><br /> silk, linen, natural dyed raffia, painted wood, shells, seeds<br /> 78.0 x 78.0 7.5 cm (variable)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2018<br /> 2018.17<br /> © Paula Savage <!--127441--> Paula Savage
Vegetation
 2017 Lehuauakea<br/> <em>Mele o Nā Kaukani Wai (Song of a Thousand Waters)</em> 2018 <!-- (recto) --><br /> mulberry papers, plant dyes, mineral pigments, gouache, clay (beads), cotton thread, metallic thread<br /> 212.5 x 346.0 x 28.0 cm (variable) (installed)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased NGV Foundation, 2022<br /> 2022.826<br /> © Lehuauakea <!--148954--> Lehuauakea
Mele o Nā Kaukani Wai (Song of a Thousand Waters)
 2018 Lila Warrimou (Misaso)<br/> <em>Ije ridime'e, vinohu'e, viojoje dehe, vison'e ohu'o shiha'u'e (Jungle ladder, bellybutton tattoo design, butterfly wings, nasal jewellery and fruit)</em> 2006 <!-- (recto) --><br /> natural pigments on nioge (woman's barkcloth skirt)<br /> 148.5 x 134.0 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Gift of David Baker, 2007<br /> 2007.384<br /> © the artist <!--83722--> Lila Warrimou (Misaso)
Ije ridime'e, vinohu'e, viojoje dehe, vison'e ohu'o shiha'u'e (Jungle ladder, bellybutton tattoo design, butterfly wings, nasal jewellery and fruit)
 2006 Dapeni Jonevari (Mokokari)<br/> <em>Butötudë (Spiderweb)</em> 2005 <!-- (recto) --><br /> natural pigments on nioge (woman's barkcloth skirt)<br /> 118.5 x 89.5 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased NGV Foundation, 2006<br /> 2006.369<br /> © The artist, courtesy Ömie Nemiss Incorporated <!--82179--> Dapeni Jonevari (Mokokari)
Butötudë (Spiderweb)
 2005 Fate Savari (Isawdi)<br/> <em>Webo owo'gumine, vene vitwe, dewolor'e ohu'o ije bi'weje (Cooking dried cuscus paws, rope and boys chopping down tree branches)</em> 2011 <!-- (recto) --><br /> natural pigments on nioge (woman's barkcloth skirt)<br /> 105.0 x 62.6 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Presented by Ömie Artists, 2012<br /> 2012.155<br /> © the artist <!--102983--> Fate Savari (Isawdi)
Webo owo'gumine, vene vitwe, dewolor'e ohu'o ije bi'weje (Cooking dried cuscus paws, rope and boys chopping down tree branches)
 2011 Naup Waup<br/> <em>History bag</em> 2014 <!-- (front view) --><br /> earth pigments and digital print on tapa (barkcloth), seeds, fibre string<br /> 74.6 x 41.4 x 4.1 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2015<br /> 2015.13<br /> © Naup Waup Artist <!--114360--> Naup Waup
History bag
 2014 John Kasaipwalova<br /> Massim people, Trobriand Islands, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea<br/> <em>Yolina is born at Muruwa</em> 1979 <!-- (front view) --><br /> from the <i>Sail the Midnight Sun</i> series 1979<br /> earth pigments on wood<br /> 73.2 x 146.7 x 7.8 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, 2003<br /> 2003.176.1<br /> © the artist <!--74232--> John Kasaipwalova Massim people, Trobriand Islands, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea
Yolina is born at Muruwa
 1979
from the Sail the Midnight Sun series 1979 Samuel Tainga Toa Savage<br/> <em>Dhari (Headdress)</em> 2014 <!-- (verso) --><br /> saltwater Hibiscus string, Lawyer cane, Torres Strait pigeon feathers, golden lip pearly (Dibi Dibi), Wada seed, mother-of-pearl<br /> 78.0 x 55.2 x 9.0 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by the Nordia Foundation, 2016<br /> 2015.547<br /> © Courtesy of the artist <!--118125--> Samuel Tainga Toa Savage
Dhari (Headdress)
 2014 Christopher Ulutupu<br/> <em>The Fall</em> 2022 <!-- (video still) --><br /> two-channel colour video, sound<br /> 28 min 9 sec<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased with funds donated by The JTM Foundation, Katherine and James Murray and NGV Supporters of First Nations Art, 2025<br /> 2025.15<br /> © courtesy of the artist, represented by Jhana Millers Gallery <!--155727--> Christopher Ulutupu
The Fall
 2022

Events

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NGV International
Pacific Community Day

10am–5pm, 11 Apr, free
NGV International
Playlist by Christopher Ulutupu Great Hall

10am–5pm, 11 Apr, free
NGV International
Welcome to Country Great Hall

11.30–11.40am, 11 Apr, free
NGV International
Music and Storytelling with PICAA and Friends Great Hall

11.40am–4.10pm, 11 Apr, free