Some years ago I stumbled upon and straight into the bliss of the tropical paradise when setting foot in a Tiki bar for the first time. The story behind this enchanting pop cultural institution unfolded a history built upon colonial power, cultural appropriation and hegemonies.

This paper investigates the western construction of the tropical paradise and the power relations that it is built upon. The work revolves around processing my own attraction towards the tropical paradise and adressing how eurocentric narratives have been depicting Oceanic cultures, people and environments in Western popular culture. I approach this attraction by both researching the colonial history of Europeans presence in Oceania and how those events intertwine with our ideas of the paradise on earth today, as well as making objects, scenes and performances that alludes to the topic. At the end of this phase of the project, the colonial gaze that constructed the tropical paradise is turned towards the West itself in the making of the installation Civilization Bar.