#Twerk #SouthAuckland #ExpressYourself

Artist Ema

This is an ongoing project inspired by the #ExpressYourself social media campaign promoted by American DJ and producer, Diplo.

How Diplo’s #ExpressYourself campaign took on a life of it’s own… Read more here

In an effort to create a contribution to the campaign’s ongoing afterlife, I collaborated with artist Leilani Kake to photograph each other upside-down-twerking at various South Auckland locations. The perceived sexualisation and physicality of our bodies viewed from this angle has inspired feedback that reflects a broad range of attitudes from shock and shame to empowered support.

I have long been interested in the politics of fat, of brown skin and the male gaze. I’m interested that this series of photographs confronts and disgusts some people and empowers others.

Whilst making these photographs, Leilani and I have discussed body confidence, spatial politics and South Auckland… the ‘colonised butt’. As an experimental project existing as part performance / part virtual, it has been refreshing and engaging. The #ExpressYourself campaign is an engagement strategy I’m interested to reflect and weave into future projects.

#SOUTH Issue 2 on @RNZNights

on February 3, 2013

I love being the South Auckland / Pacific Arts cultural ambassador for Nights on Radio New Zealand. In January, we discussed SOUTH – a publication I have co-edited with Nigel Borell. Issue 2 of SOUTH was launched on 12 January at Papakura Art Gallery and is available for free at art centres and libraries throughout South Auckland. We’re really proud of Issue 2 and excited to start entertaining new stakeholder relationships for Issue 3.

Listen to the full interview here:

Find SOUTH on Facebook here and read more about the cover image here

#ConcealedAncestors video

on February 3, 2013

This video briefly documents the journey of Fijian-Maori visual artist Margaret Aull from her Te Awamutu studio in the Waikato to her solo exhibition at Papakura Art Gallery in South Auckland. I co-curated Margaret’s solo exhibition, Concealed Ancestors with Nigel Borell; the exhibition features sculpture and works on paper and runs until 23 February 2013. Read more here.

This video was shot and edited by Leilani Kake and produced as an archival record with support from the Pacific Arts Committee, Creative New Zealand and Toi o Manukau.

#ConcealedAncestors Works for Sale

Concealed Ancestors
A solo exhibition by Margaret Aull

Works for Sale

Transferred

Acrylic, ochre, graphite, ink, 24-carat gold leaf on paper

$1900

Framed 700 x 932mm

SOLD

Urenui

Acrylic, aerosol, ink on paper

$1200

Framed 619 x 824mm

SOLD

Re-configure ethnographic

Acrylic, graphite, ink on paper

$1600

Framed 700 x 932mm

Mata Rangatira

Acrylic, ink on paper

$1200

Framed 619 x 824mm

SOLD

I told you it started here!

Ochre, graphite, ink, 24-carat gold leaf on paper

$1900

Framed 700 x 932mm

SOLD

Haere mai, Vanua

Acrylic, ink, ochre on paper

$2500

Framed 905 x 1218mm

SOLD

Whakapapa transfer station

Acrylic, graphite, ink, 24-carat gold leaf on paper

$1900

Framed 700 x 932mm

SOLD

Matakau [installation]

2-pac gloss acrylic, Totara

$4500

Dimensions variable

Pacific – niger

Acrylic, ink, ochre on paper

$1600

Framed 700 x 932mm

E Moemoea

Acrylic, ochre on paper

$1600

Framed 700 x 932mm

All works 2012, mounted on acid free mat board, framed using UV-reflective glass.

Prices listed in New Zealand dollars.

Framed dimensions refer to the size of the glass, actual size is approximately 50mm larger.

The exhibition Concealed Ancestors (12 January – 23 February 2013) at Papakura Art Gallery was supported with funding from the Pacific Arts Committee, Creative New Zealand and Toi o Manukau.

Read more about Concealed Ancestors here

Contact Ema Tavola for further information and sales enquiries: Mb (NZ) 027 5779369 / Email Ema.Tavola@clear.net.nz

#ConcealedAncestors ~ a curatorial response

“Urenui” (2012)

Oceania is my natural habitat… at times, I am overwhelmed with longing.

I think of the ocean often.

I remember the feeling of belonging, of breathing warm air and feeling my feet touching the ground and feeling secure. Grounded.

Suva rain and softened earth
In between heaven and here
My heart… beats… home

I am the Ocean

Not visiting. Not searching.
She is my rhythm and I am her soul.
I see myself in people and smiles. I feel myself in spaces between

[I am a Fijian in silence]

Detail, Fijian ochre

“Matakau” (2012) installation, Totara and acrylic paint

Fiji Museum

The smell of collecting is intoxicating.
Aged
Dusty
Euro-

Noble. Memories. Frozen.
A History of Colonial Encounter.
Objects boxed, cased, pinned. Mana dissected.

In traces of silvery residue, I see slivers of my past.

Imperfect empowered

Excavating identity
Interrogating memory / loss

Eyes and tattooed mouths
Fingers and hands

She crafts inky dreams

Painting in the gaps of our mixed genealogy

Margaret Aull with her work, “Seek Utopia – The Way Home (series), Hawaiki nui: 2/4” (2012)

Anchored by new roots

Diaspora distorts colonisation

Generations [re]moved
Tradition and a new transmission
The economic burden and first world sacrifice

Emo- evolution
Facebook family and a digital constitution
Fiji Online

[Optional]

Concealed Ancestors

In language and behind eyes
I am your anger

In signs and knotted hair
In blood and sweat

You are my limits and my potential

I am filled with your journey
An agent of future souls

This is an experimental piece of writing by Ema Tavola developed for the exhibition catalogue of Concealed Ancestors – A solo exhibition by Margaret Aull

Two excellent new exhibitions opening this weekend in #SouthAuckland

Seek Utopia – The Way home (series), Hawaiki nui: 2/4

This custom-made aluminum and reflective vinyl road sign has been designed by Fijian-Māori visual artist, Margaret Aull. In only its second public showing, the work entitled “Seek Utopia – The Way home (series), Hawaiki nui: 2/4″ (2012) will be part of Margaret’s upcoming solo exhibition, Concealed Ancestors at Papakura Art Gallery, South Auckland.

In a Māori world view there are operative parallels that exist pertaining to physical and spiritual realms.

Hawaiki nui is a mythological place kept alive through waiata, oratory and whaikorero. Its exact co-ordinates have been blurred over time. The explosion of global positioning through the internet can remove the mystery of sacred and profound places such as Hawaiki nui.

By creating a road sign to Hawaiki nui it is intended that the place transitions from the mythological world into the present, directing travelers at least towards a place that exists on State Highway 1, Aotearoa.

– Margaret Aull

The work will be installed in the Gallery’s road-facing window vitrine from 12 January – 23 February 2013.

Concealed Ancestors also features a series of works on paper and a sculptural installation, all of which have been produced as part of the artist’s post-graduate studies at Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design.

Find #ConcealedAncestors on Twitter for ongoing commentary and documentation
Follow PIMPI KNOWS on Facebook for event details and updates

Margaret Aull’s Concealed Ancestors

I’m currently writing about Fijian-Māori visual artist, Margaret Aull’s new work for her upcoming exhibition, Concealed Ancestors.

I met Margaret in 2008 in Suva, Fiji – we were both part of the Vasu: Pacific Women of Power project at the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture at the University of the South Pacific. Since then, we’ve worked together on a number of projects and I’ve enjoyed seeing her work shift and change.

Margaret’s work is intentionally and unintentionally a declaration of her cultural position as a Fijian-Māori / Māori-Fijian. She has made work exploring flags, identity and ownership, as in the work Kiwi mate (2011) [above] and explored political similarities and colonial struggle of both Fiji and Aotearoa.

In a review in Eyeline magazine (Issue 73), Tessa Laird describes Margaret’s work, Tino Rangatiratanga and Coups (2010)as, “a broken composition that is part flag, part museum display case, with fragmented artifacts subjected to colonial categorisation and branding”. The work was created for the exhibition Native Coconut at Fresh Gallery Otara featuring three artists who share both Māori and Pacific Island ancestry.

Last year, Margaret trialled collaborating with a graphic designer to develop the work Fiji ki Aotearoa (2011) which was shown in the exhibition diasporadic679 at various venues in Ōtāhuhu in acknowledgment of Fiji Independence Day.

Read more about Margaret’s work Fiji ki Aotearoa here

The work in Concealed Ancestors is a further shift in thinking and aesthetic consideration. The exhibition showcases a series of works on paper and a sculptural installation. Produced as part of Margaret’s post-graduate studies, the work is an in-depth visual enquiry into the concept of tapu / tabu or sacredness informed in part by a recent trip to Fiji and time spent at the Fiji Museum.

Read more about Concealed Ancestors and Margaret’s background here

Concealed Ancestors runs from 12 January – 23 February 2013 at Papakura Art Gallery, 10 Averill Street, Papakura, South Auckland

Miss Lavalava Genevieve Pini #PacificArt #SouthAuckland

I modeled this skirt for Otara-based Samoan artist and designer, Genevieve Pini for an experimental fashion editorial in the upcoming issue of SOUTH, coming out January 2013. Genevieve has often talked about how much she wanted the garments she created for South Auckland’s annual fashion and wearable art competition, Cult Couture, to be modeled by chunkier models. The editorial was an opportunity for each of the invited designers to present their garments, style and ideas in a way they had complete control over. Genevieve identified this alleyway near where she lives in Otara; she wanted to show her hood, her environment, her comfort zone as her inspiration. It came together really nicely and I can’t wait to see the final images in print.

Watch Genevieve and her sister Jacinda Pini on their journey to Cult Couture from Fresh [TVNZ] Season 1

With a few additions, this piece entitled Miss Lavalava was customised to fit me for the SOUTH photo shoot. The garment was made for the Recycled Revolution category of this year’s Cult Couture event. It is made of a recycled rice sack, a nylon carry-bag and meters and meters of fabric scraps. Genevieve observed the construction technique on a recent trip to Samoa where it is commonly used to make floor mats for the bathroom and doorway areas.

I also loved wearing Miss Lavalava to the 2012 Arts Pasifika Awards in Wellington earlier this month where it attracted a lot of attention! I was proud to represent an artist from South Auckland whose practice I’ve been watching and appreciating for the past 10 years.

#WINNING at the 2012 CNZ Arts Pasifika Awards

I am humbled to be the recipient of the Contemporary Pacific Artist Award of the 2012 Arts Pasifika Awards, administered by the Pacific Arts Committee of Creative New Zealand.

For the past five months, I’ve been transitioning from full-time employment, working in the field of Pacific arts advocacy and curating, to self-employment. Working in a freelance capacity, it is at this time that recognition for my work as a Pacific curator carries significant value.

I had an emotional time at the Awards ceremony, trying to acknowledge everyone. I didn’t mention Jim Vivieaere or Epeli Hau’ofa, who have passed on and whose legacies provide ongoing inspiration for my work. I didn’t acknowledge the investment and support of my parents, Helen and Kaliopate Tavola, and my dear sister, Mereia Carling. I didn’t even acknowledge the artists in my life who are my sounding boards, mentors and collaborators, in particular my South Auckland crew Nigel Borell, Tanu Gago, Rebecca Hobbs, Leilani Kake and the excellent Fresh Gallery Otara brain box, Nicole Lim. But it was lovely to have a small South Auckland contingent in the form of Margaret Aull (honorary South Aucklander!), Donna Tupaea (Chair, Toi o Manukau), my partner Taka and Kolokesa Māhina-Tuai.

I have worked tirelessly for the past seven years and produced 80 odd exhibitions featuring almost 300 artists. I’ve enjoyed so much of the journey and draw such happiness from seeing the artists I’ve worked with go on to do great things. I thanked the Pacific Arts Committee, and Creative New Zealand for acknowledging the art form of curating. I feel it is a historical shift in thinking and represents a win for everyone who works behind the scenes – the producers, publishers, directors and editors – those who enable, empower and encourage our artists to take raw talent, mix it with skills and professionalism and create strong and robust platforms for Pacific expression.