Oceanic art is produced by the indigenous people inhabiting the island chains of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia in the South Pacific. Examples include monolithic, intricate tortoise-shell carvings, skin tattooing, wood carvings, masks, and stone carvings from the Easter Islands. Sometimes the term also covers aboriginal art from the Australian continent and New Zealand. Subject matters are many and varied but often deal with fertility and the supernatural.
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