Easter Island is known for two things: the social and environmental devastation that followed over -exploitation of its resources in the late 19th century and its 887 monumental statues, called moay, the construction and transportation of which were mysteries for centuries.
Today, both legacies remain inextricably linked to the culture of the island. In an exhibition that reaches its finale today at Zayed University Silicon Oasis in Dubai, two artists from the island are showcasing work they say speaks to the heart of the isolated Polynesian Island.
Christian Tuki has painted for 33 years. His work uses themes of nature and aims to give a sense that the people of Rapa Nui, as the island is referred in its official language, possess a far deeper history than that which can be gleaned from the statues alone. Using earth tones and often depicting people and animals as they appear in reality, Tuki reveals an ongoing connection with nature that is part of a great nationalistic pride.
"I want to show that [we are people] who love simple things; music, nature, [we are] respectful of it and its laws. We are one of the wonders of the world."
Andres Pakarati wears many hats: artist, tattooist, traditional Polynesian carver. Born into a traditional Rapa Nui artist family, he learnt the art of carving from family, a skill that has been passed down for generations.
"When we start learning to make these small sculptures, we do so because we can sell them to the tourists," he explains. "It's for work. It takes years to learn how to make bigger ones."
Pakarati explains that his family has been making the island's traditional sculptures for more than 1,500 years. Upon mastering the art, he says that he soon realised this alone would not be enough for him, at which point he began to learn about other forms of expression.
"I'd travel for three months a year and had seen the sculptures of other places. It [gave] me a better understanding of what I do," he says. "In my own culture, art is the most important thing. At home everyone is an artist, and it's important because the artists are the ones who keep us in touch with our roots. We have a specific style, an aesthetic that's our own."
Over the course of the current Easter Island exhibition, Pakarati has worked on two traditional statues called paenga, both of which will reach a height of three metres. He's working on them at a desert site outside Dubai. When complete, one statue will sit at the university, the other at the Chilean embassy here.
Almost 1,000 of these statues sit on Easter Island today. It is estimated they were carved between the years 1250 and 1500. The tallest reach about 11 metres in height and in some cases the stone they are made out of weighs hundreds of tonnes. This and the fact that the statues' raw materials would have to have been moved from one area of the island to another has shrouded them in mystery.
Local legends explain that the movement of the statues resulted from their being commanded by higher powers to walk to their ultimate locations. Barring that theory, it is supposed that the statues were moved via a massive human effort, involving ropes and a trolley system made of wood. This hypothesis is made primarily because the halt of the statues' production coincided with the disappearance of the island's last tree, which, according to scientists' pollen tests, occurred around 1650.
The island has undergone waves of immense change and, as Pakarati explains, it continues to.
Much of the deforestation that mars the island's past is the work of its original inhabitants, making what the artist calls centuries of bad decisions with regards to resource management. But the arrival of Europeans also brought new animal species, among them rats. These non-native rats made their nests in the trees, and in an effort to eliminate them, many of the island's trees were destroyed.
Though reforestation has taken place, Pakarati explains that the population of 4,000 people is bombarded almost year round with tourists, and this presents its own set of challenges.
"The mix of indigenous culture and modern cultures doesn't always work. We have so many more TVs, cars, computers, there are fast food places everywhere," he explains. "It's changed this famous place quite a lot. It's affected our lifestyles."
Tuki shares the same sentiments, that the island people are struggling but determined to maintain their traditions while opening up to the modernities that are necessary for any tourist destination.
"I want to tell everyone that we like being so far away, but we still need to grow and learn."
Naga
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Skewed figures
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”