Fa'aleagaga featured in both the 2018 mid year Whitecliffe exhibition and Tautai's Biennial "And Then What?" displayed at St.Pauls St Gallery.

 

This body of work aims to demonstrate and create conversation around indigenous religious practices. The Hon. Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi writes of 'Anapogi' as a pre-missionary and indigenous Samoan practice that refers to the rituals of the evening. It is a ritual that consists of self-denial, prayer and meditation involving the denial of food, company, sex and other distractions. The ritual often entailed isolation of self from the village so that the persona can contemplate he harmonies and gain spiritual insights. These insights are also known as 'Moe Manatunatu.'

 

The third aspect to this body of wok is a representation of 'Fofo', the sacred Samoan art of healing. This involves special medicines made from native plants and trees such as coconut oil; included in the installation for the audience to take and use. Through the consumptions of certain medicines, massage with oils, prayer and a deep connection to the spirits that not everyone can attain, fofo is accomplished.

 

Bringing these rituals that I exercise into the context of the white cube reaffirms that these practices are not a historical remnant but a living part of contemporary society. This work subverts the colonial discourse that has been woven into our cultures and allows us to remember what was stripped from our people so long go.