The Brignoni Collection. 2. Catalogue of the Works

The larger works represent ancestors, shamanic priests and spirits, or are anthropomorphic poles, used for sacrificial rituals or as architectural elements, with carved zoomorphic figures. About ten of these are veritable masterpieces of ethnic art. The word Patong usually denoted the ancestral spirits or deities of nature, which were carved on the occasion of the death of a member of the village, or to commemorate the capture of an enemy in battle. When these sculptures were used to represent a dead person, they could also incarnate the immortal spirit before it started its long and dangerous journey towards the afterlife. Together with the larger objects, some smaller items of the Dayak culture, for example, a ba' baby-carrier, a kelebit shield, and four tun-tun hunting sticks will be exhibited.

The exhibition, curated by Francesco Paolo Campione, director of the Lugano Museum of Cultures, is structured in three sections: the first represents the relationship between men, animals and the spiritual forces of nature; the second is dedicated to the relationship between men and their ancestors, the subject of the "good death" and the supranatural sphere; the third section focuses on some of the most important creative and expressive features of the works in exhibition. Each of these three areas is introduced by an object of exceptional importance, and which constitutes a kind of identifying element for the specific section. The artworks are put in contrast to one another through their stylistic assonances and dissonances, making the exhibition architecture even more intriguing also from an optical point of view. The set-up and especially the alternation of lights and shadows makes it possible to "reveal" details that are not visible at first sight, due to the strong expressiveness of the different objects taken as a whole.