Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust
A new group exhibition curated by Nigel Borell presents a fresh take on the legacy of Moana people and connection to place.
Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust presents Oh My Ocean, bringing together work developed by nine artists during the 2020-2021 Covid-19 lockdowns. The exhibition, curated by Nigel Borell, is open from Saturday 30 October (or when Covid-19 alert levels allow after this date).
Oh My Ocean is a lighthearted riff on the popular social media phrase ‘Oh My God’, exclaimed in surprise, shock or amazement. The phrase is a play on words, meaning and digital expression, but underneath the jest is a statement about the integral connection between Moana people and the ocean as the centre of one’s world – of one’s identity.
Curator Nigel Borell says, “Much like the phrase, Oh My Ocean is an exuberant and fresh take on the legacy of Moana people and our connection to place. Moana artists offer their own exclamations and reclamations as expressions full of hope, ambition and sovereignty.”
“Amongst the shifting circumstances of the pandemic, these artists have shown how – even when creating in sustained isolation – we have innumerable connections.”
Oh My Ocean includes work by Rawiri Brown, Fa’amele Etuale, Ioane Ioane, Elisabeth Kumaran, Sani Muliaumaseali’i, Michel Mulipola, Iata Peautolu, Keva Rands and Chris Van Doren. Through a dynamic blend of media that reaches across comic book illustration, sculpture, installation art, digital media, textile design and performance, these artists tell stories that celebrate and share a Moana worldview.
All artists exhibiting in Oh My Ocean participated in Tautai’s Fale-ship programme, an initiative born of the Covid-19 lockdowns to support artists working across a range of artistic disciplines to develop and make work at home. It is the second of two group exhibitions showcasing Tautai’s Fale-ship artists.
Tautai Director Courtney Sina Meredith says, “We’re excited to be rounding out Tautai’s full year of exhibitions with Oh My Ocean, the finale show by our 2021 guest curator Nigel Borell. This blockbuster offering provides urgent and sacred insight into the work of contemporary Tagata-Moana artists and the power of our community.”
Exhibition details:
Oh My Ocean
Saturday 30 October 2021 – Saturday 29 January 2022
Tautai Gallery, Level 1, 300 Karangahape Road, Auckland Central
Open 10am–4pm, Tuesday–Friday, 11am – 4pm, Saturdays
About Tautai
“Great art feeds a family for generations.” – Tautai Founding Patron, Fatu Feu’u
Located in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust is a charitable trust dedicated to championing Pacific arts and artists. Tautai was formed in the 1980s when leading Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u and his peers came together with a shared aspiration to support and promote Pacific visual artists. In the years since, Tautai has grown to become Aotearoa’s premiere Pacific arts organisation with a multidisciplinary focus. The Trust brings artists and the wider Tautai aiga together through a range of events and activities locally and globally.
Proudly supported by Creative New Zealand and Foundation North, Tautai is able to provide unique opportunities for the Moana arts community. Situated in the heart of Auckland’s CBD on Karangahape Road, Tautai’s newly expanded premises now includes a gallery space dedicated to showcasing the works of contemporary Pacific creatives all year round. In addition, Tautai’s full programme of activities and events include live-streamed artist talks and performances, a brand-new international strategy, workshops, internships and partnership initiatives that encourage growth in the sector.
Tautai draws on the Samoan word for navigator and illustrates the organisation’s commitment to guiding Pacific arts in Aotearoa New Zealand.
About Nigel Borell
Nigel Borell is of Pirirakau, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Te Whakatōhea tribal descent. He is a curator, writer, educator and artist specialising in Māori art in both customary and contemporary fields of research. Recent curatorial projects include co-curating with Zara Stanhope Moa Hunter Fashions by Areta Wilkinson, for 9th Asia Pacific Triennial, QAGOMA, Brisbane (2018); touring The Māori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand to deYoung Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco (2017); and the large survey exhibition Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (2021), where he was the Curator Māori art from 2015-2020. Borell was awarded the inaugural Arts Foundation A Moment In Time Award – He Momo in August for curating the landmark exhibition Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.
