Alice Hunai traces her origins to Nuenue, a female ancestor who was given the skill of weaving by the creator Tagao. Like Nuenue, Hunai has travelled widely, developing and sharing her weaving skills.

Bwana are long, finely woven pandanus mats that traditionally operate as a valuable form of currency in Vanuatu. On Rava, Bwana can be traded for goods, but they are also used as offerings in marriage ceremonies or in funeral rites to wrap the corpse of a dead chief. Families store the mats over their kitchen fireplaces in custom-made pandanus bags, the fire smoke keeping the mats dry in the humid conditions and seasoning them so that they last for many years. Removed briefly to be used for ritual, they may also be exchanged to resolve disputes.

Hunai has perfected her own approach to weaving Bwana. At times, she favours a stylised fish pattern, which has become a personal symbol of hope and peace, while the diamond-shaped design represents the cycle of life. Sometimes Hunai dyes long strips of pandanus in a dark colour to create a dramatic contrast in patterning. As a young woman, she would collect old typewriter ribbons and carbon paper from her job as an office clerk for the British government in Port Vila, boiling them up at home as a dye. In the mats on display here, the artist has emphasised elegant diagonal patterning using the subtle variations of colour and tone found naturally within pandanus leaves and finished them with fringes.