Talitali fiefia! Introducing the mother and daughter duo Tui Emma Gillies and Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows!
Tongan | Falevai, Vava’u / NZ
Northland & South Auckland, Aotearoa
Instagram | Facebook | Tui’s Website | Sulieti’s Email
Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows are New Zealand based Tongan artists specialising in tapa art. Their work mixes can be challenging, confronting and controversial, but always with respect to the roots of the medium and the ancestors who practised it before them.
They have received grants from Creative New Zealand towards collaborative art projects and were the recipients of the Creative New Zealand Heritage Art Award in 2018. They have exhibited and presented their work across the globe and sold works to private buyers, including The Royal Academy of Art in London (during Oceania) The National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, The University of Hawaii Hilo and Auckland Museum. Sulieti was recently made an MNZM in the New Zealand New Year’s honours.
Specialising in tapa art, the pair shares a deep dive into their creative processes throughout their Fale-ship residency.
Tui & Sulieti share insights into their creative processes and context behind their new artwork after coming out of lockdown!
Watch this behind-the-scenes time lapse of Tui & Sulieti creating their incredible new work!
– Tui Emma Gillies
“How do Pacific Islanders deal with isolation? The answer is simple: Fāmili”
The final tapa piece completed by Tui & Sulieti during their Fale-ship residency, a new artwork entitled Fāmili
Detail of Fāmili | Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 
Detail of Fāmili | Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows
Q+A Talanoa with Tui, Sulieti & Benji Timu
Q+A Talanoa facilitated by:
Benji Timu | @thelifestyleofbenji | @BenjiTimu
Filmmaker/Architect
Sāmoan/Kuki Airani/Niue | Letogo/Aitutaki/Mangaia
East Auckland, Aotearoa
BT: “How important is it to showcase the lived experience of Moana artists?”
Excerpt from Talanoa
TG: “I think it’s really important, we’ve got a lot of stories to pass down, …stories that we’ve been told from our elders and ancestors, and their stories need to be shared and told so they’re not lost…”
View all the FALE-SHIPS here
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27/07/2020
