Ő mie Art and Ő mie Artists©

Abstract The bark cloth paintings produced by the women of Ő mie Artists© have in recent years drawn acclaim in the art world for their originality and vibrancy. The artists’ cooperative follows the organisational structures of some A ustralian A boriginal art movements, as well as the channels of distribution and valuation of this indigenous art. In spite of what appears to be a major adjustment of traditional cultural forms, Ő mie bark cloth paintings are highly valued for their authenticity and the people themselves have been presented in art‐writing as remote and relatively untouched by outside influences. Aside from providing some historical and ethnographic background for this small group of people living in O ro P rovince in P apua N ew G uinea, the article argues that this particular portrayal of the community and their culture is a product of the meeting of long‐term Ő mie aspirations to money and development in interaction with a particular Australian vision of what constitutes authenticity in the context of its former colony, P apua N ew G uinea.