Peter’s research interests focus on art and cross-cultural interactions in the Pacific, with a focus on the emergence of indigenous modernisms and contemporary art after World War Two. For the Multiple Modernisms project he is investigating the significance of two cross-cultural friendships: one between Wallis Islander artist Aloi Pilioko and his ‘mentor’, French-Russian artist and Oceanic art collector Nicolai Michoutouchkine; the other between Samoan tattooist Sulu’ape Paulo II and two ‘Pakeha’ artists, photographer Mark Adams and painter Tony Fomison. Both studies investigate how intimate friendships have been conduits for larger historical forces such as the desire for decolonisation and modern artistic identity.