Transmutation: Our Origin Stories

Curated by Papua New Guinea born multidisciplinary artist Weniki Hensch, the exhibition explores alchemy through movement, textiles and painting, from intergenerational storytelling to the transformative nature of the female body as a vessel for ancestral knowledge.
 
At its heart is Weniki Hensch’s choreographed video work, which reflects on her experience of diaspora and adoption, tracing a connection from the first Ancestors to her own daughter. Inspired by Weniki and Florizel's animal totem, the Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly and its life cycle, the piece follows themes of transmission of ancestral knowledge, traditions and spiritual or magical capabilities.
 
Alongside the video, traditional Ömie tapa textiles honour women’s tattoo designs passed down through generations, while Lesley Wengembo’s diptych, Neon explores how cultural traditions evolve in the contemporary world.
 
Journey into stories of origin, transformation and cultural inheritance.