Aj Fata (Ngāti Makirangi / Sāmoa) grew up in South Auckland, Manurewa. She is a mixed media artist, expressing herself through poetry, digital art, print-making and music. Her work focuses on empowerment of being an indigenous woman in te ao hurihuri. Always leaning into the strength of her ancestry, Aj creates works that speak to the love story of being in a working relationship with all things. She is a collector of kupu and a cultivator of kai. 

with hair like watercress

she lays on her back like

an island made of doughboys

coconut oil seeps from her skin

and

she floats

with

“the water that tastes different here”

rewa; to float  

Rewa is a poetry, film and animation work written in response to “The Water Tastes Different Here” that speaks to the bodies of water that carry us to and from home, while holding the ingredients of who we are - wherever we go. 

— Aj Fata, Artist Statement

The Water Tastes Different Here is on at Tautai Gallery till July 30 2022