This paper discusses the exhibition “Looking Behind the Faces of Ono Niha. Colonial plaster casts from Nias” curated by the author in collaboration with Museum Pusaka Nias, as a critical re-examination of the colonial legacy of physical anthropology in Indonesia. The focus is on 64 plaster casts of Nias men created by the Dutch physical anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1875-1971) in 1910, that are part of various museum collections in the Netherlands. 

 

To challenge the colonial perspective and explore future potentialities for these casts, this project developed a collaborative research and exhibition with Universitas Nias Raya and Museum Pusaka Nias. To uncover lost histories and memories about the men whose faces were cast the exhibition was developed as a platform for dialogue and interactive discourse, and also explores potential futures for the casts, including repatriation.