Face mask

This face mask materialises the widespread practice of making masks in the wake of COVID-19. It has been made with tapa cloth, kafa (Tongan word for coconut sennit), calico and cotton.

Covid-19 is a type of coronavirus. It can pass from person to person by droplets, and can manifest with a cough, fever, and respiratory issues. Some people with Covid-19 can be asymptomatic, but can still pass the virus to another person. The virus’ incubation period is 14 days, this is the time between being exposed to the virus and when symptoms start. People who do develop symptoms can do so at different rates.

Key guidance and messaging from health departments globally, has been to cough into a tissue or elbow, wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, limit touching of the face, clean surfaces, keep a two-metre social distance; and self-isolate if unwell, or if recently in contact with Covid-19. Mask-wearing was a latter addition to these guidelines, but have since become a standard part of the response to Covid-19. The World Health Organisation currently states that ‘masks are a key measure to suppress transmission and save lives. Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive ‘Do it all!’ approach’ [1] as part of protecting oneself and others from the virus.

This acquisition evidences how masks have moved beyond basic protection and ‘transformed into more complex objects with multiple functions: message communication, expressing one’s mood, personality, ethnicity or community; signifying respect or recognition, indicating a political stance’ [2]. This mask is connected to Pasifika identity, and speaks to an educational philosophy that centres indigenous ways of knowing. It has been used by the Kafa Kollective as a metaphor, a motivator for Pasifika that considers the continued uses of kafa, both physically and conceptually.

A tertiary leadership group made up of 7 Pasifika students, The Kafa Kollective are employed as academic and creative mentors to undergraduates enrolled at the College of Creative Arts (COCA) Massey University. Formed in 2020 after Aotearoa New Zealand’s lockdown, the group named themselves after kafa.

Made from dried coconut fibre, kafa is a strong and flexible cord commonly used for lashings of houses, canoes, weapons and tools across the Pacific. The collective reflected on the uses and versatility of kafa. Inspired by its resilient qualities, it is used as a metaphor by the group to encourage tertiary students at Massey, and as young people experiencing a new norm in a post -Covid-19 world.

This face mask was donated to Te Papa Tongarewa by Kafa Kollective member, Sosefina Filo-Masoe. Prior to the tour, she had been actively making masks for other students and her community, using Pacific-themed material. After being gifted tapa cloth and kafa, she decided to make a bespoke mask that ‘proudly represents us’ [Pasifika] and ‘reminds us of how strong our ancestors were’ (Sosefina Filo-Masoe, 23 March 2021).

[1] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

[2] Magnani, 2021 https://hyperallergic.com/630814/a-year-in-masks-francesca-magnani/