Cook & Omai

- Foreword (80KB)
- The Cult of the South Seas (266KB)
- Spectacles of Knowledge (229KB)
- Comedy in the OMAI Pantomime (140KB)
- Images of Mai (193KB)
- Omai’s Things (224KB)
- The Art of Ventriloquism (166KB)
- Mai, the Other Beyond the Exotic Stranger (292KB)
- Ó Mai! This is Mai (206KB)
- Notes on Contributors (33KB)
- Exhibition List of Works (54KB)
- Entire Publication (2.11MB)
Publication Date: 2001
The journey of one man across half the world, from his home in Tahiti to 1770s London and then back again, provides us with a key to understanding the significance of Cook’s three Pacific voyages and the cultural milieu un which they took place. Mai, better known as Omai, was discussed by scientists and philosophers, introduced to all the ‘best’ circles and written about in everything from poetry to pornography. The legacy of Omai's encounter with Europe reveals a culture in a moment of transition, when old certainties were collapsing and new ones were yet to form.
