PROVENANCE

Collection of the artist

Fatu Akelei Feu'u, ONZM was born in Western Samoa. He arrived in New Zealand in 1966, at a time when the place and contribution of Pacific Islanders had yet to be comfortably established in the community. Fatu holds the honorary title of Father of Pacific Arts in New Zealand. In these early years he painted land and seascapes eventually embracing print making and creating large scale sculpture. Today his works encompass a wide range of media. Follow a solo exhibition in 1983 Fatu began referencing Polynesian influences and 'fa'asmoa (traditional religious and cultural values) in his work. His art is about the spirit and soul of his people and is characterised by symbols of the Pacific - flowers, sea and in his carving, the adoption of traditional methods. Fatu has conducted workshops at Canterbury and Auckland Universities. His major works include the mural Tautai Matagofie in Auckland's Aotea Centre and the Pathfinder mural in New York.

Feu'u's work was included in two groundbreaking exhibitions of contemporary Pacific art: Te Moemoea no Iotefa, curated by Rangihiroa Panaho for the Sarjeant Art Gallery in 1990 and Bottled Ocean curated by Jim Viviaeare, which toured New Zealand in 1994 - 1995.

Feu'u was part of the major group exhibition Le Folauga: the past coming forward - Contemporary Pacific Art from Aotearoa, New Zealand at Auckland War Memorial Museum. Le Folauga later toured in Taiwan, the first exhibition of contemporary Pacific art from New Zealand to be shown in a major fine arts museum in Asia. Le Folauga opened at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan in December 2008 and ran until April 2009

KO'OA was commenced in 2005 taking nearly two years to complete. Carved from a single piece of macrocarpa, Fatu refers to this as his most important work. At over seven feet tall the female deity stands supreme.

According to Samoan mythologies KO'OA was a goddess of love and fertility and a sun worshiper. She was a descendant of the notable paramount family of the Sa Malieto of Sapapalii Savaii.

I carved out the internal organs to symbolise the destruction of Samoan culture by christianity and colonisation. They say the women were left with only the eyes to cry their tears.

But KO'OA will always rise up from the ashes like a phoenix to inspire all and give hope to her own people.

Since the arrrival of christianity the name KO'OA is today spelt with a T, thus TO'OA, and the aiga (family unit of Samoan society) still use this name on certain young women of substance. FATU FEU'U