Episode AA 94 0035; Tukulagi Haaku

John Pule's oil painting Episode AA - 940035 Tukulagi Haaku was painted in 1994. The painting makes reference to the death of Pule's young daughter Zaiya. The title includes the reference number of a CAT-scan report made for Zaiya when she was ill. Painted on unstretched canvas, this work resembles hiapo, an early type of decorated bark cloth from Niue, where Pule was born.

References to hiapo
The hand-painted patterns of hiapo comprise sprawling trails of leafy vines, as well as motifs and images whose linking narratives are now forgotten. Episode AA - 940035 Tukulagi Haaku draws on the structure of hiapo design, but includes contemporary iconography in order to create a narrative specific to Pule's contemporary experiences in New Zealand. The storyboard-like construction contains many kinds of image - landscapes and bodies, structures within structures, cartographic elements, concentric circles, watchful eyes, and abstracted animals.

Contemporary stories
The painting and its story can be seen as one of many episodes in the wider body of Pule's work. His own form of hiapo adapts an old tradition to new contexts, mapping human experience as well as a unique cultural and social landscape.

Pule is a pioneer, but his work is also representative of contemporary Pacific art produced in New Zealand. Many artists of Pacific descent are actively concerned with the circumstances of migration, and what it means to be both a Pacific Islander and a New Zealander.