VII Academy recently partnered with Creative New Zealand to provide a seminar over 12 weeks for Pasifika creatives from Aotearoa. Taught by Christopher Morris with assistance from Raymond Sagapolutele, students from all over the Pacific took part via weekly Zoom meetings. All participants constructed meaningful stories from within their communities.
Final photo essays from all the participants are published below.
Uso, Tinā, ‘Afafine (Sister’s sister, mother, father’s daughter) by Jacinta Mauga
This selection of images was taken over four months during 2022 and 23. It documents the relationships and, as we say, in Sāmoan the Vā (the relational space between) my sister, her daughters and my father. That space also includes those who have gone before — our gafa (genealogy), they are always with us. Traditional Sāmoan (and Pasifika) values of alofa (love), fa’aaloalo (respect) and tautua (service) still inform how we navigate the contemporary world we live in today.
Another Sāmoan word that comes to mind when I look at these images is tautalaitiiti. But not in the way I used to hear it in the islands, meaning cheeky or to speak above ones age, a bad thing. Lana Lopesi in her essay, “Tautalaitiiti girls need no defense”, puts forward a case for reclaiming that word as positive for our young girls and women. She writes of Sāmoan women with depth and range, a will and a strength of her own. This is a celebration of those women, past, current, and emerging.
Le Masaga by Leala Faleseuga
Le Masaga is a documentation of Rune and Lyra, 6-year-old identical twins. Taken over 5 months in 2022 and 2023, it takes place in small-town Aotearoa (New Zealand) encompassing the summer months.
Shot by their mother, this project is a tender observation from within, a record of their interactions, vignettes of their everyday life. The images speak of childhood, sibling/sisterhood, aiga (family), and the unique way of being that is twinship. Through it all threads a reverence for the quiet beauty of the domestic and mundane, a parent’s love, and the gentle acceptance of the inevitability of time.
Lyra and Rune are Aotearoa born, and are Sāmoan, Māori and Dutch. (Salelologa / Ngāi Tūhoe / Te Āti Awa / Limburg / Friesland)
Le Masaga means ‘the twins’ in Sāmoan.
Whakakāinga by Talia Momoiseā
This project explores my children’s connection to their whēnua | land, environment, and each other during a time of uncertainty.
The family home has been their haven through the Covid-19 pandemic and their parent’s separation. The last few months have been unsettling as they wait to see if they will be able to stay in their childhood house. It’s driven a need to enjoy the space and land we have – rare in modern Auckland properties – and celebrate milestones from home.
Manurewa, their local community, has been their extended backyard. Mangawhai and Matapōuri beaches have become our homes-away-from-home as we establish new family traditions together.
Beyond the Reef By Daniel Fisher (Taniera)
Dive into the lagoon of Rarotonga and join us as we swim through the Ava’avaroa Passage. As we navigate through the passage, we’re surrounded by schools of fish, turtles, and eagle rays. With the help of the natural lighting, we see magnificent reflections of the sun’s rays dancing with the water as we pursue our adventure beyond the reef.
Kāinga Tonga by Tanya Edwards
(Kāinga = kin, relative, land)
When my father died it caused a devastatingly deep and lasting grief. Having grown up in Aotearoa New Zealand and moving to Tongatapu 25 years ago, his death has challenged the way I connect to the land we live on and my sense of home. As women in Tonga are not able to own land, it has invoked some feelings of displacement and disconnection as I look to move forward with the possibilities that the future may hold for me.
At the same time, his homeland is a place to draw comfort in the wake of our loss and ultimately seek a greater connection with the land and its people. I am finding a sense of belonging through our combined cultures and traditions and seeking ways to foster a deeper appreciation for my indigenous identities.
