Five contemporary artists from Fiji have come together for an exhibition in response to Fiji Day, 10 October. Well aware of the turbulent events happening at home, the exhibition Fiji Times is a personal response to current issues.

Five contemporary artists from Fiji have come together for an exhibition in response to Fiji Day, 10 October. Well aware of the turbulent events happening at home, the exhibition Fiji Times is a personal response to current issues.

The Fiji Times exhibition, which features Margaret Aull, Filani Macassey, Sangeeta Singh, Luisa Tora and Torika Bolotagici Vetuna runs from 10 to 14 October at The Salon on Karangahape Road in Auckland.

Inspired to make commentary on the current situation in Fiji, the artists have developed experimental works in canvas, paper, tapa and cloth that tackle issues of leadership, faith and religion, censorship and militarism, propaganda, love, land and diaspora.

Ema Tavola has curated the show and admits the work is politically inspired. “The artists are able to take advantage of being on the outside, commentating from afar,” she says.

Women artists from Fiji have been asserting their presence in contemporary Pacific art circles, particularly since the Vasu: Pacific Women of Power exhibition, held in Suva in September 2008.

Based between Melbourne, Waikato and the Auckland region, the five women artists have recently started to work more closely together.

“It's exciting to have a strong network of Fiji women artists living relatively close by, particularly Luisa and Sangeeta, who have recently relocated to South Auckland from Suva,” says Ema.

The exhibition opening will feature a live performance from Fijian musician, Stevie J. Artists will be present at the exhibition opening and will be at the gallery for the duration of the show. Works are for sale.

About the Artists:

Margaret Aull
Margaret Aull has paternal links to Fiji and is inspired by both her Fijian and Maori (Te Rarawa, Tuwharetoa) heritage. Margaret received a Bachelor of Media Arts from Waikato Institute of Technology in 2006. She has exhibited extensively in New Zealand since 2005 and most recently held her first solo exhibition entitled Na Kena Yali at Arts Post, Hamilton. Margaret works as the National Arts Registrar at Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Te Awamutu.

Filani Macassey
With maternal links to Solodamu, Kadavu, Filani Macassey was born in Suva in 1964, but grew up in Kaikohe in the Far North, New Zealand. Filani holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland and is currently pursuing a postgraduate diploma of adult learning at Massey University.

Sangeeta Singh
Sangeeta Singh is from Nakelo, Tailevu in Fiji. She is a prose and poetry writer and an amateur photographer. Having trained at the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture & Pacific Studies in Suva, she uses her art to challenge social constructs such as sexuality, race and gender.

Luisa Tora
Kadavu native, Luisa Tora has spent more time fighting for human rights in Fiji than she has writing or painting. Her proverbial art practice is an extension of her activism. Tora co-curated the Vasu: Pacific Women of Power exhibition in Fiji in 2008 and co-edited the accompanying publication.

Torika Bolatagici Vetuna
Originally from Hobart, Australia, Torika is the daughter of an Australian mother of Anglo-Celtic origin and an Indigenous Fijian father. Her photographic and video work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Torika is a full-time lecturer at Deakin University, Melbourne and a doctoral candidate in the Centre for Contemporary Art and Politics at the College of Fine Arts (University of New South Wales).