Pacific Islands Art in New York

The Manuia Exhibition by Beachcomber Contemporary Art

Mar 11, 2010
Brian Cross

Sheraton Vaimaanga - Mahiriki Tangaroa

In March 2010, New York's very first exhibition of contemporary Cook Islands art opened at the American Indian Community House, Broadway.

Manuia is a collaboration between six artists from Rarotonga, the heart of the Cook Islands. The exhibition seeks to counter some of the stereotypes created by generations of Western visitors to the Pacific – the coral atolls lined with palm trees, the primeval mountain vistas, the exotic practices and idyllic lifestyles of its people.

In its publicity for the exhibition, Rarotonga gallery Beachcomber Contemporary Art states that Manuia “is designed to confront traditional, institutionalized theories about contemporary Pacific art practice, a challenge to the persistent, universal, ‘Pacific fantasy’ perspective that dominates the understanding of contemporary Pacific art frameworks.”

Cook Island Artists in New York

The works comprising Manuia are from:

Mahiriki Tangaroa, photographer and painter. Tangaroa says that her photographs “document the modern structures of Rarotonga, examining architecture in relation to landscape, posing the question of relevancy and how this reflects the values of a given culture or society". Her oil on canvas works employ a muted palette, depicting symbolic questioning of an often overlooked, pre-colonial past.

Kay George, multi-media and textile artist presents a series of large digital portraits on vinyl. Her works are a collage of individual experiences of a relocated foreign culture coexisting in a sometimes uneasy manner with the traditional values of Island life.

Jerome Sheddon and Mike Tavioni, working in collaboration. Newcomer Sheddon’s video art was developed during a long absence in Australia, and he is now seeking to reconnect with his Cook Island culture. His work with celebrated carver Tavioni, provides a formidable video experience.

Andy Leleisi’uao, a collection of whose works now belongs to the Auckland City Art Gallery following exhibition at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan. Leleisi’uao’s art seeks to draw the viewer into an alternate universe populated by large Janus heads that are inhabited by familiar yet fantastic creatures.

Michel Tuffery, adept at plastic arts, printing, painting and sculpture, and one of the Pacific's most recognized, international contemporary artists. The Bull, created from corn beef tin cans is a highly acclaimed signature work. Tuffery’s art makes reference to intercultural trade and exchange and the consequential environmental impact on small Pacific nations.

The Significance of Manuia

In an interview for Suite101, Tangaroa expresses the meaning of the exhibition. She explains how European visual documentation of the Pacific has played a powerful role in shaping perceptions of how to interpret and view Polynesian culture. From early missionary lithographs to the lustful, enticing photography that grace the pages of today's tourist magazines and travel brochures, this has contributed greatly to promoting the ideals of the island fantasy.

Tangaroa believes that Manuia addresses an outdated and serious misconception. In doing so, it endeavours to express the realities of modern Polynesian culture. The conflicting nature of foreign ideals and local traditional values has come upon the people of the Pacific, creating constant pressures for change. Tangaroa asks how Polynesians can respond to these inevitable changes, and how Pacific Island societies can continue to foster a traditional belief system that will indisputably cater for the well being of future generations.

The exhibition was opened by Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme Administrator.

The Cook Islands are a widespread group lying between latitudes 9 and 22 degrees south. Rarotonga is 3,000 km from New Zealand and 4,700 km from Hawaii. Manuia translates as ‘be well’.