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.