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"Amazon Artifacts
Exhibition & Sale"
Collector
Steve Baker
October 26th - November 9th 2007
Exhibition Statement
My first demand of an expedition is
that it offers amazing landscapes and extreme adventure. My extended
trips to the Amazon have never failed to push me to the teetering edge
of my physical, mental and spiritual powers. I have been sated on
adrenalin more than once on the Rio Ventuari and it many tributaries.
Throughout the 80’s
and early 90’s I bought handcrafts and folk-art in Canada and sold it
around North America from my office in Toronto. I honed my eye by
handling many thousands of objects that sprung directly from the hands
of the maker to mine.
In an amazing
coincidence of fate, I found that the people of the Ye’kuana tribe who
live along the rivers I visited in the Amazon poses a marvelous
spiritual culture and a rich history as artisans, traders, and fierce
warriors. They have become my friends and extended family.
I was knocked out
when I first saw the waja’s made by the Ye’kuana tribesmen of Yatitina
village in 2002. My acquisitive nature prompted me to buy some. My
desire to return and buy more Ye’kuana objects whispered in my ear until
I sold most of the waja’s in Caracas and used the money to go back for a
longer trip to the Alto Ventuari and to buy more objects. I have since
returned many times.
Through trial and
error I developed a method to trade for the objects I wanted using both
cash and barter goods such as fishing hooks, needles & thread, machetes,
solar panels etc. From anthropologist David Guss (To Weave & Sing) I
learned to recognize the weaving techniques and interpret the symbologic
meanings plaited into the objects. Marc de Civrieux’s retelling of the
Watunna, the Ye’kuana’s collection of oral mythology, taught me of
Wanadi, his world, his creation of our world, and the lessons he taught
his people the Ye’kuana for life and death in the relentless jungle.
I realized that the
farther up river I travel, the more isolated the village, the more
traditional and untouched by outside influences are the people. For me,
this is a happy equation. It means that the scarier and more difficult
the trip, the better the collecting opportunity. I have had the great
good luck to be able to indulge myself with some truly incredible
journeys. This exhibition will show the material results of those trips.
The international
market for authentic Tribal Art with a solid provenance is strong and
growing. Ye’kuana and Sanema objects have been recently featured in
successful auctions in Paris. The objects that I am showing at this
exhibit possess the intrinsic value of all beautiful objects along with
the added potential for growth as an investment.
SB - 2007 |
