Ruki Fame started out as a welder, who then became one of the first intake of artists at the newly formed Creative Arts Centre around 1973-74. He welded with cut steel from such sources as old 44 gallon drums, chrome bumper bars from wrecked cars, and reinforcing bars. Ruki has had a distinguished career as a sculptor with many architecture related commissions and some large urban sculptures.

Ruki has inspired and influenced some other artists such as Gikman Kundum and Tommy Deko. The large scale urban rusty steel sculpture in colour was photographed by Sebastian Fowler in a round-about near Waigani in late 2003.

Cowboy on a Horse is an early, small, welded steel sculpture exhibited at the Creative Arts Centre early 1970s.

Ruki  is watching the assembly and installation of his large steel sculpture Woman on the PNG Development building at Waigani about 1975. Ruki was commissioned to do this major work through the National Arts School by the building’s architect Jim Birrell from Brisbane who at the time also had a Port Moresby office. Ruki’s design was fabricated in pieces with the help of a steel fabricating firm and was craned into position and attached to the building.  A significant amount of unedited super 8 footage of the whole process is in our archive awaiting an opportunity to be digitised and taken into a documentary.

The other B&W pair of photos shows Ruki’s Woman in context on the wall of the building, and a closeup of her head with the young NAS lecturer Bob Brown photographing it from above being assembled.