Private View

Yuki Kihara

サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta)
A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific)

 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Installation view
5 piece installation; Samoan siapo, textiles, beads, plastic; kimonos: 1750 x 1410 x 250 mm each
 

artist statement

サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) serves as a forewarning against the increasing levels of resource extraction by foreign powers, portrayed in the form of expedition fleets, submarines and underwater mining, that are seeking to affirm their geopolitical dominance across the Moana or the Pacific Ocean by portraying a chaotic environment. The siapo kimonos feature a series of hands piercing through the sky inspired by an ancient lore describing the genesis of the Sāmoan word ‘Pālagi’ – where Sāmoans upon seeing the first Europeans across the horizon, believed they had pierced (‘Pā’) through the sky (‘lagi’). In and among the chaos, however, we see a Pacific double hull canoe using traditional navigation methods sailing across the Pacific Ocean as a symbol of Indigenous resilience and resistence while foreign ships from past and present arriving continuously to compete for domination.

detail views

 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 1 of 5
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 1 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 1 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 1 of 5 - Detail view
 
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 2 of 5
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 2 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 2 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 2 of 5 - Detail view
 
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 3 of 5
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 3 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 3 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 3 of 5 - Detail view
 
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 4 of 5
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 4 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 4 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 4 of 5 - Detail view
 
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 5 of 5
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 5 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 5 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 5 of 5 - Detail view
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) (2022) Part 5 of 5 - Detail view
 
 
This project was realised with the generous support of Creative New Zealand
 
  
 
サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no Uta) - A Song About Sāmoa - Moana (Pacific) is on exhibition at the 14th Gwangju BiennaleSoft and Weak Like Water, running 7 April - 9 July 2023. Exhibition views below are from this exhibition.
 

Exhibition Views