Page 35 - Fiji Traveller Issue 10

A recent exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Suva marked Halstead described as a reversal of the usual/Western way of
the iTaukei new year, and a collaboration between two artists doing things, where the frames come later.
exploring their roots and routes taken. Kama said this enabled them both to become vessels for
‘Vulaiwerewere’ opened on June 21, the first day of the indig- inspiration.
enous new year. It brought together artists Ropate Kama and This wasn’t an easy process. Kama talked about how they
Rachael Halstead, who draw/paint and carve respectively, to had to find a way to move and flow together, to find a rhythm
mediate on traditional totems and elements. and calm, and have their work speak to each other – saying this
The exhibition was a year or so in thinking, planning and ex- took some time.
ecuting, said the artists, who described the process of artmaking Kama roots much of his work in research; conversations,
together as ‘healing through reconnecting’. reading, and visiting the national archives and USP library, and
Kama reflected on Vulaiwerewere as ‘the beginning of our their collections on indigenous knowledge. Halstead draws her
survival’, a time for clearing and weeding a plantation, and creativity from nature. She often works with wood that is offcuts
planting - specifically yams. or recycled, and seeks to honour the life and provenance of the
The exhibition centred around various elements or totems; trees she uses.
sky-manumanu, earth/vanua-kau, and ocean-ika, and showed Halstead hoped that the collaboration demonstrated to
how those elements and totems flow and relate to each other. other artists the joy that can be found in creating new things
It took the artists some time to find a similar flow. At first, Kama together.
created the illustrations, while Halstead simultaneously worked
on frames for them. But when they came together, they realised To find out about upcoming exhibitions at the National Art Gallery
the artworks were not in harmony. follow the Fiji Arts Council on Facebook.
In the end, Halstead created the frames first, and then Kama Ropate Kama’s work features in the ‘Tagi ni Vanua’ exhibition at
created his art in response to the spaces they offered him, what the gallery until September 26.

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