item details
Kaetaeta Watson; artist; 2020; Thames
Overview
This woven ensemble is called Otintaai (The Rising Sun). Made up of ten components, it is based on the concept of a female warrior for climate change. Otintaai is the work of master I-Kiribati heritage artists, Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry.
Kaetaeta and Louisa are I-Kiribati raranga (weaving) practitioners who utilise te rabakau ni Kiribati (indigenous knowledge) in their work. They have exhibited in major exhibitions, including Home AKL at the Auckland Art Gallery (2012), Wunderrūma (Louisa Humphry, 2015) and most recently A Mua: New Lineages of Making (2020), at the Dowse Art Museum.
They are both also members of Tungaru: The Kiribati Project, a collaboration with Chris Charteris and Jeff Smith, dedicated to the revival and creation of woven armour. This ground-breaking project, led to their participation at the prestigious Asia-Pacific-Triennial in 2018. They were the Pacific Heritage Art Award recipients at the Pacific Arts Awards 2019.
Otintaai
The ten components of Otintaai include a woven hat, neck piece and removable arms; a breastplate made from copper designed to protect the chest and heart; while the bodice and skirt utilise the skill of taeriri (the making of dance skirts); An upcycled fishing net is used as an overskirt in a nod to te riri ni buki (hip skirts); and there is an upcycled belt made of old wooden and plastic floats in lieu of the coconut shell belt usually worn with a dance skirt.
The ensemble is accompanied by small accessories, woven elements and re-purposed plastic.
Otintaai utilises the artists' strengths in weaving and knowledge of harakeke, but also solicited the skill of their husbands, Jack Humphry and John Watson and in the welding of the copper breastplate and the creation of the upcycled belt.
‘Otintaai, is a female Kiribati warrior facing hard times now with climate change. The sea around her rising, overfishing, entangled netting and plastics polluting her waters and islands. But she looks at the rising sun each day with hope, and stands firmly with the fight to create a better world for our children's future. Our warrior is really speaking to our future generations as the guardians of this beautiful world we have.’ (Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry, 19 September 2020)
Significance
This taonga represents narratives of climate change and the vulnerability of Kiribati's low lying atolls. The most common risks include the effects of sea level rise, ocean acidification and salt water intrusion. The people of Kiribati are on the front lines facing these challenges and leading the global fight. Otintaai though has an empowering message of hope,
'she does not dwell, but instead stands tall even if they are overtaken by the sea. We are encouraged to stand tall and look at the rising sun'. (Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry, 2020, 19 September 2020).