Kulimoe'anga Stone Maka Toga mo Bolata’ane (Tonga and Britain) and Kuini Haati 2 (Two Queen Heart) 2008–10. Oil, clay, dye on tapa cloth. Courtesy of the artist.
Kulimoe'anga Stone Maka Toga mo Bolata’ane (Tonga and Britain) (detail) 2008–10. Oil, clay, dye on tapa cloth. Courtesy of the artist.
Kulimoe'anga Stone Maka Kuini Haati 2 (Two Queen Heart) (detail) 2008–10. Oil, clay, dye on tapa cloth. Courtesy of the artist.
This exhibition is now closed
Monumental contemporary ngatu tā’uli by local Tongan artist Kulimoe’anga Stone Maka.
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.
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Date:
9 September – 17 October 2021 -
Curator:
Melanie Oliver -
Exhibition number:
1129
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3 July 2022
Experience the Gallery’s collection from the perspective of our place in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean.
Director's Foreword
Director's Foreword
Welcome to the spring edition of Bulletin. As I write this, the country has once again entered a period of level four lockdown, which will mean some uncertainty and anxiety for many of us. It's not yet clear when we will leave lockdown, which means that printing deadlines and exhibition openings dates may have to be moved, so please do check on our website for updates.
Commentary
The Meeting of Two Queens
A blue dot – warm, mid-blue – that repeats across Tongan artist Kulimoe'anga Stone Maka’s ngatu tā'uli Toga mo Bolata'ane (Tonga and Britain) (2008–10) recalls the first time the artist saw blue eyes.