Ono'u Festival 2016 - Tahiti & Ra'iātea

WOW is the easiest word to describe the past few weeks! We had the amazing privilege of attending the Ono'u Tahiti Festival in Papeete for one week & then over to Ra'iātea for a further 6 days. As Māori descendants the significance of travelling to such a special place was indescribable. Ancestors spoke of the great navigators who courageously left the shores of the island out in the pacific towards greater opportunities. Taputapuātea marae was the most important of these places to visit & we had the honour of attending a ceremony with last remaining kaumatua of the area.

Our art practise although made up of a lot of paint, is at the core about transforming spaces & communities. The murals we painted were completely different in conceptualisation but equally important & significant parts of our heart. Honour, awareness, support, understanding, each wall was a statement of the things closest to our hearts. The first large wall is of the Ōmāma'o (Tahitian Monarch) that is critically endangered, we wanted to support Manu SOP in the efforts to bringing awareness to this beautiful manu with only approximately 50 specimens remaining. The second wall was a collaboration with the amazingly talented artist Askew who painted the portrait of Viliamu Tupaia the oldest living relative of the great navigator Tupaia who travelled to Aotearoa with Captain Cook. We can't thank Sara & Jean enough for their passion to bring creativity to French Polynesia & for inviting us to attend!