11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

NOTES 1 William Bakalevu, interview with the author, 15 September 2023. 2 Paintings by the Red Wave Collective [exhibition catalogue], October Gallery, London, 2006. 3 Bruce Sowter, interview with the author, 25 April 2023. 4 William Bakalevu, interview with the author, 21 May 2024. BORN 1961, SUVA, FIJI LIVES+WORKS INNIKOROLEVU VILLAGE, FIJI William Bakalevu discovered his love for painting at the age of 37, after moving from the urban vistas of Fiji’s Suva city, where he was born, to Nikorolevu village, the home of his forebears. The local history and stories of Nikorolevu village captivated Bakalevu, and he was compelled to find a way to visually document and celebrate day-to-day life in this rural community. After sharing his aspiration with local friends, the idea emerged to create illustrations of selected stories and paint them on the walls of residents' homes. Without any prior painting experience, Bakalevu completed a series of domestic murals that started his lifetime commitment to retelling the narratives and characters of Fijian legends and proverbs. 1 Bakalevu’s newfound passion coincided with the emergence of the Centre of Oceania Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, at the University of the South Pacific, founded by ‘Epeli Hau’ofa in 1997. The Centre’s vision is to maintain Pasifika people’s autonomy through developing contemporary art practices and nurturing arts education, and Bakalevu was invited to join the group of artists working there. The Centre particularly encourages experimentation, multidisciplinary learning and interaction between artists and communities. The most prominent group of artists to emerge from the Centre is the Red Wave Collective, of which Bakalevu was a pre-eminent member. This group was unified by an aim to bring history, tradition and indigenous knowledge into dialogue with new mediums and contemporary social discourses. 2 For more than a decade since its inception in 1998, the collective staged a dynamic program of public exhibitions, artist residencies and local partnerships that nurtured the steady development of their practices. Bakalevu’s own approach developed in this context, intimately connected to the work of his peers, including Irami Buli, Frederick Butafa, Ben Fong, Paula Liga, Mason Lee, Josaia McNamara, Ledua Peni and Lingikoni Vaka’uta. For many of these artists, vital support came from a community of art collectors who regularly purchased their work. Australian Bruce Sowter lived and worked in Fiji through the Red Wave Collective’s most active period. 3 During this time, he became a prominent supporter of Bakalevu’s practice, acquiring his work for more than a decade — a large group of which he later gifted to the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. The selection of works by Bakalevu in the Asia Pacific Triennial celebrate his distinctive approach to art-making developed and refined over more than three decades. His process incorporates the development of new symbols, etching techniques and abstracted figures to platform and recontextualise the significance of local legends, re-imagine their characters and expand the visual language used to tell stories indigenous to Fiji. Each work gives expression to Bakalevu’s ongoing study of how paint and texture can communicate both the narrative and emotive aspects of each story. The group includes an ambitious new work Bakalevu completed in his home, near the beachfront of Nikorolevu village, titled Viavia 2024 — translating to ‘Wannabe’ or ‘Want to be’. It explores the layers of meaning embedded within the Fijian proverb ‘Eda Ika kecega, ia eda dui nubunubu’, which likens people to fish, dwelling at different depths and influenced by different currents. 4 In this work, Bakalevu reflects on his own life as an artist in Fiji, keenly aware of how his journey has been different to others’ in his community. Bakalevu reflects on how he has explored new depths, ‘wanting to be’ guided by different currents while staying deeply connected to his community and culture. RUHA FIFITA WILLIAMBAKALEVU The legend of Daucina 2006 / Oil on canvas / 200 x 180cm / Collection: Bruce Sowter ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 60 — 61