Artisan - Sola, Vanua Lava

This man, a neighbour of ours while we stayed in Sola, was the creator of one of the best-known landmarks in Vanuatu: An eight-foot tall pig's tusk (for reference, here's a real one) that stands outside Pekoa airport on Espiritu Santo.

The tusk is a little amusing at first, until you consider how it was made. By way of a hint, there aren't many facilities in Vanuatu to create, for example, fibreglas forms to mould the concrete. This man completed the task without any tool more advanced than a machete.

He appears to be mentally impaired in some way, perhaps with some mild kind of autism or Asperger's syndrome. He readily recognises and welcomes friends and family members, but does not respond in any way to spoken or signed language. He's a brilliant individual.

July, 2004

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