Jasmine Tuiā
Matautu and Gagaifo, Anoāma’a Falefā and Malifa Apia, Samoa.
West Auckland, Aotearoa.
Fale-ship Home Residency 2020 Her practice explores the concepts of the Pacific body and indigenous Samoan narrative through mediums of print, photography, moving image and tapa (Siapo) making.
Influenced by histories, conversations, and land cases from the village of Matautu Lefaga Samoa, her work talks on the re-representation and reclamation of Pacific identity, as well as reinforcing the importance of indigenous voice.
Meet Jasmine Tuiā
“Being at home has reminded me of the importance of family dynamics and community kinships in the making and collecting of materials for my works – especially with my tapa/siapo practice…When preparing to dye tapa, I am accompanied and supported by my younger siblings. When I’m in my room writing or researching, my family’s noise somehow helps me focus and keeps me grounded. The same when I’m embroidering tapa; I either have to be in the kitchen with my parents making dinner, or be in our living room listening to music, while my younger brothers try to show me a tik tok dance. These are some of the things I acknowledge and enjoy in my process.”
— Jasmine Tuiā
Jasmine shares her creative workspace in West Auckland, her process experimenting with eco-dying and stitching of tapa and the family dynamics of working from home and how that has influenced her work.
Jasmine Tuiā - Creative Process
Become fully immersed in Jasmine’s creative process as she works on stitching and dyeing her siapo, surrounded by the sounds of West Auckland and her family.
“Reflecting on our Samoan practices of Siapo, this residency explores how my making connects me to our Samoan Siapo narratives and textile practices through remembering and nurturing family oral stories.”
- Jasmine Tuiā
Jasmine Tuiā : sounds around home
Bird song, pop music faintly playing and the crunch of dried leaves under foot. ‘sounds around home’ audibly captures Jasmine’s creative workspace and process. Sit back and enjoy the sounds of West Auckland.
Jasmine Tuiā : West Akl
Check out this video collage ‘West Akl” featuring Jasmine’s home, the back drop to her creative process and where she gathered materials to eco-dye her siapo.
Jasmine shares her completed siapo featuring her Aunty Shirley, accompanied by a piece of writing titled ‘Return to Paradise’ inspired by her village of Matautu Lefaga.
““…my little brother, he’s three, and he’ll just come ask me questions about the tapa, the siapo and why I do it. And then when I answer something he’ll ask more questions…which is really nice cause then I’ll just tell him stories my great grandma has told me, even though he doesn’t understand it. I just hope somewhere in there it’s just engrained in his mind. That would be the highlight, just having conversations while making.”
Q&A Talanoa with Jasmine and Rosanna
Rosanna sits down with Jasmine to chat about how creating at home has sparked conversations with her younger siblings in this Q+A Talanoa.
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