The Sawfish and Self Defence I is part of a series of works based on a dialogue with the
Papuan artist Agus Ongge. The Sawfish is extinct in the Sentani lake and it was seen
for the last time in 1974. Agus Ongge repeatedly paints the shape of the sawfish in
the hope that the coming generations don't forget. The hunting of the sawfish
started in the colonial era and ironically the saw was cut off the fish. This saw
became an artefact, a collectors item that we can find in some ethnographic
museums around the world. These bags are a comment on the human nature to
produce artefacts and objects, for the sake of art, to beautify ourselves, for status,
etc.
