Nukuoro

Nukuoro Atoll is a ring of tiny islands in the south Pacific that has a total area of only 1.7 square kilometers and is home to only three hundred residents. Yet the tiny aitu sculptures produced there are known worldwide, appreciated for their unusual forms and coveted for their rarity.

This book features images of almost half the aitu sculptures known to exist, starting with the earliest ones that were purchased by trader Johann Stanislaus Kubary in 1873. These pieces are distributed throughout museums across the globe, and they are rarely seen as a group—let alone photographed in such stunning detail. The resulting book offers an unprecedented chance to assess the form and the achievement of the sculptors of Nukuoro Atoll.