6 Oketopa 2019
O ni ata maoae o le tā tatau a Sāmoa oloo faaalia i le Falemātaaga
a Te Papa
O le tatalaga aloaia o se faaaliga i le Te Papa’s Toi Art iā Novema o le ā maimoaina ai se vaaiga māfana tūtasi i le
faatinoga o le tā tatau a Sāmoa.
E fiafia lenei polokalame ua taua o le Tatau: Tā Tatau a Sāmoa ma Ata, e faailoa atu gāluega a ni tagata pue ata e toafā ua latou faamaumauina i ata ma tala le tatau a Sāmoa e āmata mai le
fasefulu tausaga ua tuanai, i atunuu o Niu Sila, Sāmoa, Amerika ma Europa.
O gāluega a Mark Adams, Greg Semu, John Agcaoili ma Angela Tiatia, ua iloa ai le salalau i le kelope o le tatau a Sāmoa
i ona vaega eseese ma ona faauigaga ae faapea foi ma ona suiga.
E āmata mai lava i ata o le māfana o mafutaga faaleāiga i totonu o o latou faletaavale e oo atu i ata e pue i alatetele,
faapēnā foi ata o vaega eseese o matāupu tau le agaga ma kenera tau tamaitai, ua faailoa uma mai nei ituaiga vaega
eseese i le tatau.
Ua faavae lenei faaaliga i le tusi e tele ona faailoga na manumālō ai i le 2018 e taua o le Tatau: A History of Samoan Tattooing na lōmia e Te Papa Press, ma na tusia faatasi e Sean Mallon ma le alii suesue mai Falani o Sebastien Galliot.
Faatasi ai ma ata e sili atu i le 50 i le tusi Tatau: Samoan Tattooing and Photography, e iai foi ni nai au, o mea faigāluega o le tātatau a Sāmoa. E faaaogā au e faatino ai ma lauiloa ai o le tā tatau a
Sāmoa, ma fai foi latou ma pine faamau ma faailo e fesootai ai nei ma le taimi tuanai o gāluega e faasino i le taina o
le tatau.
Na saunoa le susuga a Sean Mallon, o le alii sinia tausimea a Aganuu Pasefika, o lenei faaaliga oleā sulugia ai le
tūtasi ma le lausilafia o le tatau i le maitau a tagata.
“Ua avea le tatau ma alagāoa e taulai i ai lagona o le faasinomaga Sāmoa o tagata Sāmoa. Ua faapupula aloaia i le Tatau: Samoan Tattooing and Photography le faaaogāina e le aupueata e toafā o le tatau e fai ma auala e saili ai matāupu e pei o nofoaga, faasinomaga ma talaaga
o le faakoloneina.”
Na āmata i le vaitaimi o le 1970 ona faamaumauina e le pueata o Mark Adams le tā tatau a Sāmoa i Niu Sila. O lona galue
vāvālalata ma i latou na ia puea ata, ua matuā fofola mai i vaaiga māfana i ana ata. Ua vaaia i ana ata le tatau i Niu
Sila i totonu o ona aai; i totonu o potu mālōlō ma faletaavale, ma luga o aluga nofoa ua pīsia i le toto faatasi ma
fala.
O se pueata Sāmoa na fānau i Niu Sila e igoa ia Greg Semu ua tā lana tatau ma na ia gaosia ni ona ata mātagōfie e
faamaumau ai lana savaliga i le 25 tausaga o lana faigāmalaga o se tagata ua laeiina le tatau. Na āmata i lona pueina o
ata o tagata Polenisia i alatetele i Aukilani ina ua faatoateleina i latou, ona faaauau ai lea i ata o lana tatau, ma
faamaumau iloga ai o lana savaliga tūtasi. Ua faalauteleina lenei gāluega a Semu e aofia ai le toe faaalia o talaaga sui
faatasi ma ata o lana tatau ma mea tau laufanua oloo i ata tīfaga ma faatusa o mea tau le agaga/faalelotu.
O le pueata faitīfaga o John Agcaolli e nofo i Kalifonia, ma ua ia faamaumauina gāluega a le autufuga tā tatau o aso
nei, ma o le toatele e faaaogaina masini tā tatau. O ata nei ua filifilia ua faapupula mai ai fesuiaiga tuputupu pea i
le tatau, e aliali ai pea ona mamanu māsani i totonu o se siosiomaga fou i fale tā tatau o onapōnei.
I lana gāluega o le Walking the Wall, oloo iloilo loloto ai e Angela Tiatia le vā o le tino tamaitai ua avea ma mea e faaosooso lagona ma lona ia
faasinomaga o se tamaitai Sāmoa. Ua ia faaaogā lana malu i totonu o le siosiomaga lea e luitauina ai se tapu a Sāmoa ae
ua taumafai ai e opogi ni faailo tau kenera o tamaitai, ma lui ai ni faatusaga māsani lē sao (stereotypes) o kenera.
Aso 9 Novema 2019 – 7 Iuni, 2020
Fogāfale 4 o le Toi Art, Te Papa
E ulufua
Iuga
Faamatalaga mo Faatonu
Oloo iai se faila ua sefe i ai ata ma faamatalaga o ata ma le lisi o i latou uma e ana nei atapue
Date: 16 October 2019
Powerful photographs of Sāmoan tattooing on show at Te Papa
An exhibition opening in Te Papa’s Toi Art in November gives an intimate insight into the unique cultural practice of
Sāmoan tattooing.
Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography presents the work of four photographers who have documented Sāmoan tattooing over the past 40 years, in New Zealand,
Sāmoa, the United States and Europe.
Works by Mark Adams, Greg Semu, John Agcaoili and Angela Tiatia portray the globalisation of tatau and the varied
contexts and interpretations of Sāmoan tattooing.
From intimate domestic scenes in suburban garages to street photography, and in relation to themes of religious
iconography and female sexuality, the exhibition presents diverse perspectives on tatau.
The exhibition follows the multi-award-winning 2018 book Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing published by Te Papa Press, and co-authored by Te Papa’s Sean Mallon and French anthropologist Sebastien Galliot.
In addition to over 50 photographs, Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography will include a small selection of indigenous Sāmoan tattooing tools. The use of the tools are a distinctive part of
Sāmoan tattooing, and offer a tangible connection to the past and to the age-old processes of making tatau.
Sean Mallon, Senior Curator, Pacific Cultures says this exhibition will reflect on how powerful and distinctive tatau is within
society.
“Tatau gives Sāmoans a rich resource to pin their sense of cultural identity to. Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography highlights how four photographers have used tatau as a medium to explore themes such as place, identity and colonial
history.”
Renowned photographer Mark Adams has documented Sāmoan tattooing in New Zealand since the late 1970’s. His connections
with his subjects are displayed through the intimate domestic settings within his photographs. Adam’s images portray
tatau in suburban New Zealand; within living rooms and garages, on bloodstained cushions and mats.
Greg Semu, a New Zealand born Sāmoan photographer has created striking self-portraits documenting his 25 year journey as
a tataued man. Beginning as a street photographer capturing the lives of the growing Polynesian community in Auckland,
Semu went on to document his own tatau, capturing the lines and designs of his unique journey. Semu’s work has also
expanded to restaging historical events by incorporating his tattooed body in the reimagining and retelling of cinematic
landscapes and religious iconography.
Based in California, photographer and cinematographer John Agcaoili has documented the work of the present generation of
Sāmoan tattooists, many of whom use tattooing machines. The selection of portraits included in this exhibition shed
light on tatau as an evolving art form, contextualising the ancient lines of tatau within a contemporary tattooing
studio and urban settings.
Within her work Walking the Wall, artist Angela Tiatia explores the relationship between the female body as a fetishized object and her identity as a
Sāmoan woman. By openly displaying her malu (female specific tattoo) within this moving image work, Tiatia confronts a
Sāmoan cultural taboo while embracing symbols of female sexuality and challenging gender stereotypes.
9 November 2019 – 7 June 2020
Level 4 of Toi Art, Te Papa
Entry is free
Ends