Exhibitions
Events
On display
Toga mo Bolata’ane
Kulimoe'anga Stone Maka Toga mo Bolata'ane (Tonga and Britain) (detail) 2008–10. Oil, clay, dye on tapa cloth. Installation view, 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020): NIRIN, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney. Courtesy the artist and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Photo: Zan Wimberley
Talk
Past event
Meet in the exhibition
Free
Hear from local Tongan artist Kulimoe’anga Stone Maka and curator Melanie Oliver as they introduce this new exhibition of monumental contemporary ngatu tā’uli.
Two large ngatu tā’uli (blackened tapa cloth) tell the story of the loyal relationship between Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga and Queen Elizabeth II of Bolata’ane (Britain). Maka reinterprets the meeting of these two queens in Tonga in 1953, reflecting on the history of engagement between these women and their nations. Drawing on the traditions of ngatu tā’uli, usually made for royalty, Maka innovates and adapts the common designs, symbols and narratives, presenting his own perspective as part of a lived, material connection to his homeland and experience of migration to Aotearoa.
* Please note that under alert level 2 all attendees must be wearing a face covering and space themselves two metres away from others. Capacity will be capped, we apologise if you are unable to attend.
Related reading: Free event
Exhibition
Kulimoeʻanga Stone Maka: Toga mo Bolataʻane
9 September – 17 October 2021
Monumental contemporary ngatu tā’uli by local Tongan artist Kulimoe’anga Stone Maka.
