Moving Objects: Reflections on Oceanic Collections

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on the aesthetics and cultural politics of Oceanic collec- tions in several places, considering objects as “moving” in three dimensions: in the physical sense, in the affective responses they elicit, and in the curatorial con- texts of their display. I start with the Cook-Forster collection in Göttingen and then move on to Honolulu and Canberra where this collection was exhibited for the first time beyond Europe in 2006.