But progress is not only about what we build. It is also about what we choose to carry with us.

For Papua New Guinean artist Lesley Wengembo, culture and modernity do not need to exist in separate worlds. His work explores how the two can meet, coexist and create something new, while continuing to tell the stories of where we come from.

It is an idea that has shaped his artistic journey - and one that has found a home at Star Mountain Plaza.
 

Living Between Two Worlds

Lesley’s relationship with culture began long before his career as an artist.

Growing up, he spent time living with his grandmother in his mother’s village in the Usino Bundi area of Madang Province. There, he experienced village life, family traditions and a connection to cultural heritage that would later become central to his work. 

At the same time, Lesley was also growing up in Port Moresby.

Moving between village and city life taught him how to navigate what he describes as two different worlds - carrying the identity and memories of home while experiencing an increasingly contemporary way of life. That experience remains part of his work today, even as his journey has taken him beyond Papua New Guinea.

After pursuing art despite it being considered an unconventional career path, Lesley continued developing his practice in Australia and is now undertaking a Master of Fine Art at RMIT in Melbourne. His artistic influences stretch beyond PNG, including the Renaissance masters he discovered when he was younger.

Yet wherever his work takes him, Papua New Guinea remains at its heart.

For Lesley, cultural traditions and symbols are not simply things to display. They are part of everyday identity. His art is a way of carrying those stories forward.

 

Bringing PNG Stories Into Contemporary Spaces

Lesley’s relationship with Star Mountain Plaza began in 2023, shortly after he returned to PNG following his studies in Sydney. He was commissioned to create a large-scale mural measuring approximately 23 metres by 6 metres. What began with one artwork soon developed into a broader creative relationship with the precinct.

Lesley later became involved as a cultural consultant, working alongside the architectural team to help bring authentic Papua New Guinean storytelling into the development.

For him, the opportunity represented something bigger than placing artwork inside a building. It was an opportunity to amplify Papua New Guinean stories within a contemporary environment - one experienced by both local and international audiences.

This philosophy is also reflected in his work on the façade of the new Stage 3 building. Lesley explained that elements of the façade draw inspiration from recognisable cultural forms, including the kundu drum, jaw harp and spear, bringing together ideas of music, culture and protection within the architecture itself.

The result is a form of storytelling that does not leave culture behind as the city modernises.

Instead, culture becomes part of the modern space.
 

Creating a Sense of Place

For Lesley, this is an important responsibility for contemporary developments in Papua New Guinea.

Around the world, architecture and public spaces often tell stories about the land, history and people around them. He believes PNG’s contemporary spaces should do the same.

The medium may change from traditional forms of storytelling to murals, façades, architecture and public art, but the story can continue.

Lesley explained that incorporating culture into placemaking helps ensure a modern development still carries the voice of its people.

Star Mountain Plaza’s existing Art Trail is one expression of that idea, creating opportunities for people to encounter Papua New Guinean art within the precinct.

For Lesley, even a subtle cultural presence can make an important difference. It reminds visitors where they are. Not somewhere anonymous. Not somewhere that could exist anywhere in the world.

But here, in Papua New Guinea. At home.
 

Celebrating Where We Have Come From - and Where We Are Going

That connection between identity, place and progress becomes especially meaningful around Independence.

During Papua New Guinea’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations in 2025, Lesley collaborated with five other artists on an activation at Star Mountain Plaza that invited members of the community to contribute their own words to a shared canvas. People were asked to reflect on what 50 years of Independence meant to them - and what they hoped the next 50 years might bring.
 

The result was not simply an artwork created for people to observe. It became something they could participate in, adding their own voices to a collective expression of PNG’s past, present and future.

That same idea continues to resonate as Papua New Guinea moves beyond its Golden Jubilee and looks towards what comes next.

For Lesley, one of the challenges of modernisation is ensuring cultural identity is not gradually left behind. Languages, symbols and traditional knowledge can be lost when younger generations become disconnected from them.

His answer is not to reject modernity. It is to make room for both.

Traditional and contemporary worlds can coexist. And when they do, culture has an opportunity not only to survive, but to continue evolving with the people who carry it.
 

A Place to Belong

Looking ahead, Lesley hopes to see greater opportunities and stronger platforms for Papua New Guinean artists to develop their careers and share their stories with wider audiences.

He sees enormous creative potential in PNG, while recognising the need for more spaces and structures that allow artists and cultural storytelling to thrive.

That is why places that make room for PNG art and culture matter.
 

As Star Mountain Plaza continues to evolve, its cultural story can evolve with it - creating contemporary spaces that welcome the future without losing sight of the identity that makes Papua New Guinea unique.

And when asked what he ultimately wants people to feel when they encounter his work at Star Mountain Plaza, Lesley’s answer brings the story back to something deeply personal:

“I want them to feel pride about themselves…
I want them to celebrate themselves.”

More than anything, he wants people to feel a personal connection to the work and a sense of belonging.

Because progress does not have to mean leaving culture behind.

It can mean giving it new places to live, new ways to be experienced and new generations to carry it forward.

A modern Papua New Guinea, with culture at its heart.

Star Mountain Plaza. Part of the MRDC Group.

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