Tep Tok documentary launches in Australia Week
The documentary film Tep Tok: Reading between our lines was officially launched in Papua New Guinea today as a part of Australia Week 2015.
Tep Tok follows four women of Papua New Guinea and Australian descent as they explore their tattooing traditions with a focus on sharing the stories of young women adapting and creating a contemporary culture to which they belong.
Director Julia Mageau Gray said while tattooing has continued strongly into contemporary culture today, the awareness of the traditional practices of tattooing in Papua New Guinea is dwindling.
“Tep Tok is a documentary aimed at changing this situation,” she said.
“By exploring the different tattooing traditions of Pasifika cultures we hope to breathe life back into the dying art worn by our grandmothers.
“A particular focus is questioning the changes in PNG tattooing traditions and exploring the gendered protocols and rituals of tattoo in PNG using the stories of elder PNG women and young mixed race women living in Australia.”
The documentary was filmed in Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and the Cook Islands by Sunameke Productions.
The Australian High Commission’s Gender program sponsored the launch at the National Museum and Art Gallery on 28 May as a part of Australia Week.
Now in its ninth year, Australia Week is packed with 19 events over seven days from 28 May to 3 June, connecting Papua New Guinea’s youth to Australia through music, film, sport, food and debate. The Australia Week program can be found at www.png.highcommission.gov.au and on the High Commission’s facebook page.