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Huw Davies Gallery 17 August - 10 September 2017 Next Generation: After RAMSI Sean Davey –

Image: Sean Davey, Kakabona, , 2017, archival pigment print, 50cm x 60cm –

Next Generation: Solomon Islands After RAMSI is an exhibition depicting daily life in at the end of the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). After fourteen years of peacebuilding, this young nation now looks forward to its future with optimism and a sense of renewal. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade commissioned Sean Davey to photograph in Honiara from June – July 2017 to mark the drawdown of the mission and to produce a series of documentary photographs that reveal the state of the country at this pivotal moment in its history.

In 2003, Australia responded to a request from the Solomon Islands Government for assistance. As a sign of regional solidarity, fifteen Pacific countries agreed to support the formation of a regional assistance mission directed and funded by Australia and New Zealand. Australia’s significant investment, which approached $3 billion and the deployment of several thousand police, military, advisers and diplomats from over ten federal agencies, helped put an end to a grim humanitarian situation on our doorstep and rebuilt a disintegrating nation that threatened security and stability in the region.

Most Australians would have heard of RAMSI; some could probably give you a potted history of our involvement. However, many Australians would be surprised to know the mission had still been running. From its peak of over two thousand military and police deployed in the early years, the mission has progressively staged its exit. The ADF left in 2013, and for the last four years it has been solely a policing mission involving the AFP and other participating police forces with support from DFAT, Finance and Treasury officials. Less than six weeks ago the remaining Australians crossed the tarmac of Henderson Airport to board a waiting Hercules, marking the conclusion of the longest Australian-led intervention mission. Strapping themselves in for the short three-hour flight into Brisbane, the moment must have felt surreal as only days earlier (24-29 June) these officers and officials had been marching down the main street of Honiara, opening memorials, farewelling friends and colleagues, decommissioning their base (affectionately named, Guadalcanal Beach Resort), picking up last minute mementos and souvenirs for family back home.

RAMSI officially ended on 30 June having realised its mandate and sticking to its drawdown schedule. The Solomon Islands Government, with assistance from Australia, staged a weeklong series of events to celebrate the withdrawal and thank those involved. Leaders and representatives from all participating countries were invited and recognised for their valuable contribution to this regional peacebuilding success. While there are still Solomon Islanders apprehensive about their future without RAMSI, community consensus judges that the timing is right. The significance of this moment in history was emphasised by Solomon Islands’ Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka, who drew on the words of former Prime Minister Mamaloni, proclaiming that while Solomon Islands had been until this point a nation conceived but never born, the departure of RAMSI perhaps heralds the true birth of the nation.

Teens living in Honiara would only know life growing up with RAMSI, and for those a little older they can recall the dark years prior to 2003. Commonly referred to as the ‘Tensions’, this period was characterised by lawlessness, reckless ethnic violence, rampant corruption, exploitation and opportunistic crime. Having wandered around Honiara’s streets — even at night with Sean and the film crew looking for that perfect shot or interviewee — it is hard to believe that this was the exact location of riots, the looting of shops and burning of buildings. Businesses were forced to shut and intimidated residents were confined to their homes by heavily armed militants terrorising the streets. Over 400 Solomon Islanders were killed. The country teetered on state failure and was on the verge of economic collapse; a very different scene from what one sees today and photographed for this exhibition.

Solomon Islanders are grasping modernity through technology, fashion, social media, fitness, education, trends and language. You can buy a good cappuccino in downtown Honiara. Mobile communications is improving, and almost everyone — especially the bulging youth population — owns a cell phone. The leaders, intelligentsia, entrepreneurs and investors are returning with their young families from self-exile in the provinces or lucrative work overseas. The next generation is confident; they know what they want and are passionate. The country is on the cusp of big things; it has huge potential. There is a good vibe around and this will flow onto other areas of the economy. Word will quickly spread as tourist numbers grow and locals become more internet savvy. Young Solomon Islanders seem to be having fun and making some money in the process.

Honiara is abuzz with locals going about their daily lives: businesses selling all manner of things, youngsters playing futsal, taxis with meters, school children, busy construction and road workers, joggers, modern music with a Pacific twist, ATMs within walking distance, churchgoers, police on the beat, trucks laden with goods and locals hitching a ride. It was right there in front of our cameras. Then you delve a little deeper with a few questions or an interview, and what becomes immediately apparent is that for many they have moved on. The emotion of the Tensions is still raw and the truth hurts, but for most Solomon Islanders enough water has flowed under the bridge. To get on with living is the Melanesian way. This was their past and it is hard to go there again, even in memories. The next generation prefers to look to the future and how they can make their mark in the world.

Sven Knudsen, August 2017

Exhibition co-curator + DFAT officer / RAMSI project coordinator –

Sean Davey | Artist statement I made these photographs in June and July on commission from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These photographs would not have been possible without the following people: Connie Te’angoika Pusah, Nelson Misiboe, Gloria Phranyta Hong, Freddie Osifelo, Cheryl ‘coffeemix’ Aumanu, Georgina Kekea, Ofati Leve, Dent and Annette Soma, Dorothy Anderson, Chelsea Saukiu, Devid Myk, Albert Kolupe, Teikagei Makaua Ashley, Estar Vlse, Carol-Anne Sulega, June Fakarii, Danny Afia, Jay Timi, Jame Aengari, Pastor Jerry Akwakiba, Sosimo Sifotelia, Maria from the Honiara Art Gallery, Ina Mauri, Bettina Kukuti, May Kenilorea-Samasoni, Jonel Franjokeni, Chris Baekalia, Deli Sharon Oso, Karl Bouro, Nanette Tutua, Hencey Charles, Stanford, Albert, Clement Tito, Festus Vana, John Bosomata, Clement Kili, Margaret Maelaua, Nicholas Buse, Roy Billy Gizo, Nelson Bulu, Vester Garimane, Aida Tuki, May Romis, Michael and Justine Cheung, Moses, Judy, Philomena and Sherinta Belaga, Francis Lilo, Nancy Tatano, Jenny Teho, Jessy Reima, Stella Barua, Mohan Shankerappa, Terry and Melinda Ngota, Jeremiah Kela, Emily Motaliki, Helen Fugui, Andrew Nixon, Jane Andrew, Cecil and Ruth Kima, Jenny Tuita Oge, Tasha Kopana, Bernadine Salebasi, Rosslyn Nena and Eliorha Muiri’i. –

Sean Davey | About the artist Sean Davey is a documentary photographer whose photographic practice centers on personal experiences and the relationships he forms with his subjects. Sean’s photographs are held in the collections of the Museum of Australian Democracy, the National Library of Australia, the State Library of NSW and the Monash Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Australia acquired Sean’s self-published book Dog Food & Oysters in 2013. Sean was recently awarded Highly Commended in the 2016 National Photographic Portrait Prize. Image List

Small colour prints, 20 x 25cm $300 each

1. Moses Belaga with his wife Judy and daughters Sherinta, 4, and Philomena, 8, on Mendana $900 Avenue, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm

2. Clement Tito (l) and Festus Vana (r) train at the Honiara City Gym, 60cm x 90cm $900

3. Boys play a game of park soccer in Honiara, 60cm x 90cm $900

4. Football (installation of four photographs), 40 x 60cm (each) $450 each

5. Children play during morning break at Hope School, Koa Hill, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm $900

6. Tristan Ma’anumoana (l) and Billy Tangtonga from Rennell and Bellona Province perform at the $900 RAMSI Cultural Welcoming Ceremony, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm

7. Kakabona, Guadalcanal, 60cm x 90cm $900

8. Connie and Philippe, White River, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm $900

9. Bathaniel’s third birthday party, Kakabona, Guadalcanal, 60cm x 90cm $900

10. Solomon Islands Map on tapa cloth NFS

11. (l to r) Georgina Kekea, Gloria Pharynta Hong and Cheryl Aumanu, Solomon Islands Broadcasting $900 Corporation, Rove, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm

12. Girls fishing, Hulavu, West Guadalcanal,60cm x 90cm $900

13. RAMSI Closing Ceremony, Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm $900

14. Prime Minister’s Public Thank You to RAMSI, published in the Solomon Star newspaper NFS

15. RAMSI Closing Ceremony, Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, 61cm x 184cm $1500

16. Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits, Maranatha Hall, Honiara, 170cm x 216cm $1800

17. End of RAMSI, 2017, (directored by Dean Gibson, Bacon Factory Films, producer Stephen Limkin, NFS cinematographer: Scott Wood) single channel video, 18 mins.

18. Formal Guadalcanal welcome offering at the RAMSI Cultural Welcome Ceremony, Town Ground, $900 Honiara, 60cm x 90cm

19. Performers from Temotu Province at the RAMSI Cultural Welcome Ceremony, Town Ground, $900 Honiara, 60cm x 90cm

20. Michael and Justine Cheung, trade Store owners, with staff, Honiara, 60cm x 90cm $900

All works were made in 2017, they are archival pigment prints on Ilford Galerie fibre based paper, printed bythe photographer

Prices are for unframed prints. Other sizes are available - POA.

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Public program Artists In Conversation with Sean Davey and Geoffrey Dunn on Sunday 10 September at 2pm in the Huw Davies Gallery. Free event. All welcome.

photoaccess.org.au Image: Sean Davey, Moses, Judy, Sherinta and Philomena Belaga. Honiara, 2017, archival pigment print, 50cm x 60cm –

Image: Sean Davey, Connie and Philip. White River, Honiara, 2017, archival pigment print, 50cm x 60cm

photoaccess.org.au