Asmat skull, 2024

Mixed media, 15.25 x 11 x 11 inches. Collection of the artist.

This piece is inspired by an Asmat skull spotted at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. The Asmat are indigenous to Papua, New Guinea. Head hunters and cannibals, they largely avoided outside contact until the 1950s. When a family member died, the head was removed from the body, scorched over flames, cleaned and decorated. In 1961 Michael Rockefeller, son of Nelson Rockefeller, disappeared in Asmat territory while on an art collection expedition. It is believed that he was killed and eaten by the tribe.