Inspired by Pacific heroines, Rosanna Raymond created Backhand Maiden to challenge Western museum norms. The Edwardian-style dress made of Fijian barkcloth acts as an avatar, reclaiming Pacific identity and revitalising forgotten treasures within colonial spaces. In the artist’s words:

Backhand is a grand dame . . . high ranking . . . doesn’t suffer fools . . . she appears to be acculturated but the back is where she gives you the back hand and reveals her tattooed arse . . . a total insult, her true feelings are revealed . . . she may be a lady but has no time for colonial tropes . . . I see her like a trojan horse, as a lady she can go places I can’t but once she is in . . . she has her own sovereignty.

Watch Raymond tell the story of Backhand Maiden, and then see her work on display as part of ’sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’: