Page 31 - Fiji Traveller Issue 4

On a hill above Malaqereqere on the Coral Coast, a pocket- West Australian-based artists and a number of locals.
sized gallery is showing art unique to Fiji. Many of them were working with lithographic prints for the first
Much of the work on display is produced at Lancaster Press time, like Josua Toganivalu, who is a well-known painter and part
Fiji, a studio dedicated to making lithographic prints, and run by of the original Red Wave Collective at the University of the South
Peter Lancaster and Dinah Caroline. Pacific’s Oceania Centre.
Lithography is a printmaking process in which a design is The works he exhibited were printed in response to Covid-19
drawn on a flat piece of limestone or a metal plate (usually “For artists, that’s part of our history now. Artists use their
zinc or aluminum) and affixed to paper using chemicals and medium to…tell stories as well…for artists we use this platform
inks. Lancaster Studio uses both mediums, with huge slabs of to create awareness of what happened during our lifetime,”
Venetian stone and metal plates dotting the workspace. It’s a Toganivalu said.
complex and technically-demanding process with many different One piece, ‘Staying Alive’, features a mask-wearing warrior.
stages, and Peter Lancaster is a master of the art. “It was part of the uniform, you’d take your phone, your wallet
Lancaster Press Fiji also offers a place for artists to stay and and your mask. And during that time, you know, Fiji is known for
work. Painters, photographers and mixed media artists from the bula smile but you’re hiding. And I did that piece like a warrior
all over the world have already participated in the residency with a mask to say how we’re resilient during that time. We can
program in the studio, which is a place of peace, creativity and remain strong and to just stay alive.”
cultural exchange. Toganivalu’s second artwork features a syringe, with the years
Peter Lancaster says the studio, and returning to Fiji, has of the pandemic marked. “You’ll notice that one of the vaccines
been a long-term dream. was the Moderna vaccine so I’ve put in my own local spin, ‘Mo
“My father was a doctor in Suva; he started the Lancaster Dina’, to be true, to be real.”
Ward training gynecologists and so I went to Samabula Primary Visitors to the Lancaster Press Fiji compound can stay in a
School, so it was a big shock going back to Australia and home that is equipped with TV, Wi-Fi and airconditioning, that
adapting. includes three Queen-size rooms, a lounge and dining room,
“Australia has been an amazing experience, but Fiji has and access to an in-ground pool and lovely productive gardens.
always been under my skin…it has always been a very deep Those gardens have inspired Lancaster’s own work; some of his
feeling for me. So, to come back and do another thing that I am prints feature abstracted, dream-like images of foliage where he
very passionate about, this printmaking process, which nobody has played with light and colour.
knows anything about in Fiji, or lithography, is a very dumb idea Lancaster Press Fiji also occasionally offers workshops and
probably,” he laughs. courses. Follow them on Facebook to find out when courses and
Lancaster says since setting up in Malaqereqere, “I have had upcoming exhibitions are scheduled. The accommodation and
some amazing artists that I have collaborated with, that’s just gallery is a 10-minute drive from Sigatoka.
such a beautiful thing, to work with an artist, and help translate
their work into this process called lithography.” lancasterpressfiji.com
A recent exhibition at the gallery included work from three Lancaster Press Fiji

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