Na wasawasa e vamatana, na wasawasa e veisemati – Oceans have eyes, Oceans connect us all (2025)
Textile assemblage: cotton, polycotton, synthetic felt, ric-rac trim, 1185x1260mm.
- Commissioned by Auckland University Press for the cover of Oceans Between Us – Pacific Peoples and Racism in Aotearoa, edited by Dr Sereana Naepi. Due for release in 2025.
- Read more on Patreon [paid post]
- Title developed in consultation with Kaliopate Tavola.
The title of this work references the i seru motif at centre of the assemblage. It is an abstraction of a traditional Fijian hair comb. In Fijian language, the gaps in between the teeth of the comb are known as the comb’s eyes. Here, the i seru and its many eyes offer a kind of visual scaffolding, a means to connect, reinforce and offer structure for the space between oceans, lands, bodies, hearts and minds.
A textile assemblage is a laborious act; every stitch is a commitment to the vision and the kaupapa. I use this medium as a symbolic honouring of the undervalued and unseen work of women. I use the aesthetics of banners – as a medium of revolution and activism – to speak directly to issues that confront and disrupt our everyday lives. In this work, I honour the geometry, design and labour of floor mats made by Fijian women which commonly use the fabric scraps from garment factories. They represent a level of creative integrity, entrepreneurship and technical skill that is literally walked all over. These thrice-folded fabric squares make a border of 253 triangles and speak to the falsehood of ‘unskilled’ labour, the backbone of Pacific migrations to Aotearoa to fulfil colonial and capital needs. In this assemblage of symbolic references, I hope this multicoloured, hand-made object can remind us of the human aspect of confronting racism and the life-giving potential of overcoming the oceans between us.
vasemaca tavola 