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Overview
This ngatu (Tongan tapa) was created by Tui Emma Gillies (Tonga – Falevai, Vava'u) as a part of the 'Ahu: Ngā wairua o Hina project.
A piece of the past
This ngatu depicts a Tongan woman in traditional koloa holding a baby. Originally created in 2016 for the Tauhi Vā exhibition at Fresh Gallery in Otara, this ngatu holds personal significance for Tui. The baby in the artwork is a representation of her daughter, Aroha. While in Tahiti, she reworked this ngatu and included it in the 'Ahu: Ngā wairua o Hina project as a tribute to the past and a symbol of intergenerational connection.
"The creation of this work was like a personal ritual, a way of introducing my daughter Aroha and her ancestors to each other. The ritual was the thinking I did in preparation and then the work of painting. Through those acts, I was summoning my ancestors and working as an intermediary, a go-between for the ancestors to take Aroha under their wing and for Aroha to be able to turn to them when needed as she got older."
Tui Emma Gillies, 2024
Background
In 2021, with the Te Papa Foundation’s support, Te Papa acquired a rare book of tapa cloth samples, one of many assembled by Alexander Shaw in 1787. The samples were cut from larger pieces of tapa collected on Captain Cook’s voyages to the Pacific (1768, 1772, 1776) and represent tapa-making practices from various islands including Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga. While the books contain only fragments of much larger creations, they highlight the variety of textures and artistry attained through the practices, knowledge, and skills of Pacific peoples.
Held in Tahiti in 2023, 'Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina brought tapa makers of Tongan, Sāmoan, Niuean, Fijian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Pitcairn-Norfolk Island, and Māori descent. Over five days this group worked together to re-establish their living relationships to the cloth held within the Alexander Shaw book. Through a process of wānanga this group of makers created two tapa bundles, incorporating the ideas of past, present, and future. Today, one of the bundles resides with Te Papa and the other with Te Fare Iamanaha-Musée de Tahiti et des Îles.