Sea of Islands is perhaps a slightly misleading title, since this “coffee table book” contains dozens of magnificent photos of the art and artefacts of the people living on the many islands in a massive area of the Pacific Ocean called “Oceania”. This extensive area stretches from a longitude west of the west coast of Australia to almost the coast of BC in Canada, and a latitude from north of Hawaii to south of New Zealand (AOTEAROA, as originally named), taking in most of the Pacific Ocean north of the Equator and between west Australia and North America.
It is a world of vast expanses of water, with a multitude of islands of varying sizes and cultures scattered over it. The biggest islands belong in the west of this area (Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia), but the smaller multitude of the islands contain a vast variety of peoples and cultures. This artistic volume describes but a fraction of the cultural treasures that have been created by the inhabitants of these islands, which sometimes are nothing more than remains of ancient volcanos and reefs.
Sea of Islands is an interesting, scholarly study focusing on the lives and magnificent and intricate art of the peoples scattered among the islands in this vast area of the Pacific Ocean.
Sea of Islands is not a detailed collection of historical, sociological or personal tales, but a rich collection of photos, mostly color, also B & W, of the creativity and artistic values of these scattered islanders, much of which can be viewed at MOA, at the UBC campus in Vancouver.
Sea of Islands is an interesting, scholarly study focusing on the lives and magnificent and intricate art of the peoples scattered among the islands in this vast area of the Pacific Ocean. The excellent photos will interest readers who are interested in aboriginal art forms from different regions and cultures. There is much to see and admire.
The MOA collection, centered around the donation of the Scots trader Frank Burnett who sailed among these islands in his schooner, the “Laurel” (later re-named “The Tropical Bird”) which he sold in 1923. He amassed a massive and varied collection of the art and artifacts of Oceania, now displayed at MOA, and extensively documented by him. History is full of such ‘wanderers’, who have enriched our knowledge of distant cultures and their creations.
The MOA collection is similar to the famous Branly Museum of ‘primitive art’, which is next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. As a point of historical interest, Burnett came with family, children and oxen, to Canada, planning to become a farmer out West. Wanting to take advantage of Canada’s ‘gifts’ of 160 acre/quarter section lots of land, which he started to farm in Manitoba. He also became rich, an investor, and used his money for travelling and collecting. To avoid the harsh Canadian winters, he moved his family to Vancouver, where he discovered a love for travelling and the ocean before him. His trading and sailing followed. As an added feature of this adventuresome man, he also wrote four books., documenting his travels and observations. He became convinced while doing this that the life of the lifestyles of the Pacific islanders was doomed by western civilization spreading out in the Pacific, and wanted to record as much as possible of it before it disappeared. Hence his extensive recording and writing, as well as acquiring from the islanders an extensive collection of their well-decorated items used in daily living.
The excellent photos and text in this scholarly book, attest to that. Many of the photos are copies of B & W original ones that he, and other western traders, took during that time. It is the more recent color ones that are the most spectacular, showing vivid colors and designs by people who attended no art schools, but simply created on their own, according to their own traditions and technologies.
What is surprising, in this days of satellite navigation aids, maps, radar, and other navigation technologies, was the ability of these island people to navigate seemingly flimsy sailing craft, over long distances in the Pacific, using nothing more than “folk knowledge”, and the sun, planets, stars and currents and winds to reach very distant, small island destinations, that would take hours of flying time today, let alone find these small destinations in the vastness of the Pacific. Burnett and other western traders and explorers were impressed by this seemingly ancient technology, and the fearlessness of the aboriginal sailors to venture forth under such circumstances. These island crafts would normally have two hulls, or a larger hull and outrigger and triangular sails. It was a “frequently navigated social world” as documented by Mayer in the chapter on Navigation.
Other chapters in the text cover the inevitable canoes and implements that were used for war and pillaging other islands, all intricately and artistically decorated. The islands had their own craftsmen, some of whom were well-known names at the time among the islanders.
This book, Sea of Islands, is one in which a scholar, art lover or dilettante can easily bury themselves for days of learning and pleasure, admiring aboriginal and unique and elaborate art. Filled with color photos and scholarly writing, this book is recommended. Enjoy!
Carol E. Mayer is Senior Curator at the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, where she is responsible for the world-wide collection of ceramics. She was awarded the National Award for Outstanding Achievement by the Canadian Museums Association for her research and curating of the permanent exhibition of European ceramics at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. She has contributed to books such as The Potter’s Art, Made of Clay, and Hot Clay. Mayer was a co-founder of the Northwest Ceramics Foundation (NWCF), served as its first president and continues to serve as a board member. In 2005, her support for the makers of ceramics, particularly in British Columbia, was recognised by a Lifetime Membership Award from the Potters Guild of British Columbia.
Publisher: Figure 1 Publishing (May 6th, 2025)
Paperback: 11″ x 9″ | 240 pp
ISBN: 9781773271552
Dr. Weiler has a BSc in Physics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from the University of British
Columbia (UBC) in Physical Oceanography. Born in Estonia in 1938, he survived WW II, and was a
refugee whose family fled to Finland, then Sweden, and finally to Canada. He had a varied career with
the Canadian Government, from scientific research, to corporate planning, marketing, investment and
management. He has travelled widely to some 70 countries and now lives in a retirement community in
Port Perry.
