Weaving Materially, Relationally, Conceptually
For several years now I have been invoking the image of the Manus basket, and my basket making practice, to share on a range of themes. It has generated many interesting conversations and responses and one of my slow projects is to publish a book about it. As I noted in this 2023 mekim basket (making a basket or basket making) workshop at the School of Culture, History & Language Immersia flagship festival, the book project plays on the Nali, Manus word for basket, n’drop, and is titled N’drop in Oceania. It plays with the sense or feeling like I am a mere drop in the vast ocean, and Pacific Studies space, while finding empowerment and well-being in mekim basket as a safe space to drop in, drop thoughts, drop everything and simply be. N'drop in Oceania is a compilation of my not-quite-aesthetic, not-quite-poetic, not-quite-artistic pieces made or written over the past years through senses of improvisation, intentionality and multiple and changing positionalities in my research and pedagogic practice in the Pacific Studies space. I intend to celebrate non-conformity and eclectic approaches that don't fit neatly into various disciplinary moulds. N'drop in Oceania is a way to express identity and positionality in my work, my scholarship and teaching. The practice of making and sharing is also time consuming and the written N’drop in Oceania has taken a back seat to allow time for making, materialising, N'drop in Oceania. As I noted several times, it might actually be a book that will never be written. That is ok for now because spaces like this are opportunities to share some of these thoughts.
This year has been particularly busy with basket making activities and practices that have been important reminders that this work is important. In April, I was unexpectedly asked to offer a reflection activity at the opening and closing ceremonies of the State of the Pacific 2026 Conference, hosted by the Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. The conference theme was Weaving Pacific Research Relationships.
I titled my reflection activity: Weaving Materially, Relationally, Conceptually to highlight the connections between the material, relational and conceptual work we do in life, in work, and in teaching and research. It was an immense privilege and wonderful opportunity to share reflections with our Pacific community at the conference. You can watch my reflections in the two videos of the opening and closing ceremonies linked in this blog.
Words
Although the conference theme and my reflection uses the word 'weaving', I noted some cautions. For example, this is an English word that encompasses the diverse practices of making and it is spoken facing an English speaking and thinking audience. This is our reality today, but for us to preserve and honour our knowledge and practices, we have to be mindful of the way we use words. Part of the reflection activity involved asking the audience to say the word for 'weaving' or making a basket, or other material item, in their selected language. I like to use either the Tok Pisin phrase 'mekim basket' or the Nali term tiliya n'drop because these are some local words people use to refer to making the Manus basket. It is not always easy given the dominance of the English language in our lives, but we can be intentional about using words in ways that do not 'erase' Pacific knowledge and languages.
Teaching and research philosophy
The Manus basket and basket making practice have become central to my teaching and research philosophy. This applies to my pedagogical and methodological practices. It also applies to my positionality and my subject positions in different projects. The reflection activity I shared in the opening ceremony of the State of the Pacific conference is a class activity that I usually do with students to open the courses I teach. Throughout the semester we revisit the activity, in no particular order. We might do some more material activity or I draw on it to highlight the concept of relationality or the multiple diverse ideas that we are bringing together in the class discussion.
For example, some lectures focus on my work on Australia's offshore detention centres, referred to as the 'Pacific Solution'. In these lectures, I use the activity to introduce my work in which the Manus basket serves as an entry into understanding some of the gendered and social issues related to the Manus detention centre. I also highlight that the lessons learned from that recent period of Australian policy can be applied to current and future policies. Some of these points were made at another panel at the State of the 2026 conference in this panel. In a recent guest lecture, I was invited to speak about my basket making practice and I was delighted to be introduced as a ‘practitioner’, rather than as a scholar. This prompted me to think about the connections between being a scholar and practitioner.
Many Strands, One Basket
I love the phrase 'Many Strands, One Basket' because it nicely captures the ways that a basket is made of many strands brought together into conversation, relationships, dialogue, including into tension with each other. I use it in teaching to highlight how we might think about diverse yet related issues. More publicly, in my capacity as the chair of the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, we have used the motif to organise two dialogues in 2024 and 2026 aimed at bringing diverse perspectives, people and ideas into a shared space. This year I reflected on the resonances between my current basket project involving the making a new basket in the image of an old one and the PAMBU dialogue involving reflections about its adaptation and regeneration in fast changing times.
Images and names of baskets
I name each of the baskets I make and each basket has its own storyline with many internal dialogues with myself and external with others. Each basket has been gifted to various people. I used to share images of the mekim basket projects on Facebook and Twitter but I am taking a bit of break from social media so I have not shared anything for some time. I still continue to make baskets and I document these projects with photos and some words. The images featured in this blog and publication and video links show some of the baskets I have made.
Sustaining mekim basket practice, work in progress...
Up till now, I have gifted the baskets away and don't have anything to show for it other than the strands and bundles of fibres around the house and the nice feeling of seeing someone receive a hand made gift, a feeling that I know resonates with others who make things to gift. The above activities culminating in a busy 2026 have prompted me to think about the possibility of exploring further questions around how we sustain the making and sharing of these practices. My book making practice is slow. I have been thinking about maybe having a small exhibition or display. This is another work in progress and involves me adventuring with the basket into an new space. I slowly explore this and other ideas about how to sustain such making practices.
I will write more on all this later...
