Loketi Niua Latu: Fefine Woman Exhibition 2011

Opening Night Invitation
Graphic design by Dale Mark Ackermann. Printing by Impact Digital.

Celebrating the centenary of International Women's Day in 2011, Fefine Woman brings together four female artists whose contemporary art practises draw from their Pacific heritage. The exhibition explores the experiences of being a woman living between cultures, balancing the influence of family values and cultural expectations. These are deeply personal works celebrating ancestors and heritage, and resonating with the blend of cultrual traditions and experiences that have shaped each artist.

1.Leanne, Loketi, Nelia and Lisa
2. Loketi, Leanne, Jo Ely and Nelia

Leanne Clayton's textile works combine cultural and personal memory to consider the roles of family and tradition in a cross-cultural society. Her installations represent a confluence of Polynesian and Western cultures, utilising techniques and materials from each. Drawing from diverse historical materials ranging from family photographs through to clothing and dress, she explores how cultural traditions shape who we are and where we are from.

1. Bodice Quilt
2. Penu's Motif
3. Ula Lei
4. Muumuu Samorian

Embrace Me

Lisa Hilli takes us on a journey of self discovery, documenting a view of her mother through a daughter's eyes. As she navigates the sacrifices and challenges her mother has faced in migrating from Papua New Guinea to Australia, we witness the artist's personal journey to take ownership of her cultural heritage. Hilli's work highlights the role family relationships play in passing along cultural knowledge. In turn, we learn that traditions are not so much stationary or stagnant, but rather fluid and adaptable - a body of knowledge and practises that grows and develops across generations as new experiences are added to those of our ancestors before us.

1. Raim video installation
2. 3. 4. Still shots from Raim

Raim video installation 7:26mins

Nelia Pauline Hoeft - Cocker's delicately rendered ceramic torsos draw our attention to how the body is culturally encoded to express identity. She draws our attention to the cultrual markers of design (tātatau/tattoo), clothing and adornment, which categorise individuals according to gender, status, lineage and various other indicators of identity. The external appearance, then becomes an extension of language as we etch culturally significant signs onto our exterior being.

1. Fefine Tangiloi
2. Broken Beauty
3. 'Ulu 'o Nua
4. Fehuluni

Fefine Tangiloi

In marked contrast to Hoeft - Cocker's works, Loketi Niua Latu's black and white portraiture series presents head and shoulder portraits of Pacific women. The images are uniformly framed, removing the culturally encoded body's characteristics of height, adornment and clothing. This draws the viewer's attention to eyes, noses, cheekbones, shadows, chins and skin: a nakedness of form that reminds us of the essence of humanity and represents the person within. Juxtaposed against each portrait is a hand-crafted hair comb fit for Tongan royalty, symbolising the cultural identity of each woman. The spatial disconnection between body and adornment highlights the difference between a cultivated and inscribed identity, and the fundamental essence of the individual human being.

Fefine Woman of ...photographic series

Helu 'a Hina

'Uluenga

Fefine Woman presents four contemporary perspectives of cultural identity as it relates to femininity in Polynesia and Melanesian culture. The resulting artworks are sophisticated explorations of cultural values, family and ancestry, tradition and cultural dislocation. This is an engaging exhibition encompassing a broad range of styles and media; a strong representation of contemporary Pacific arts practise.

Jo Ely

Curator

Hunt Club Community Arts Centre