APT 2002 Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia : Report

Annie Kwong Polytoxic LOCAL PERFORMERS An important component of the event was the inclusion of local Brisbane Pacific Islander performers. Local Papuan Rose Flood coordinated all of the local Pacific acts and catered the Islander food that was given away free. The local acts were interspersed with the Divas’ performances and included, Tongan-Chinese Annie Kwong’s customary hula dancing performances, fifteen year old Samoan fire twirler Al Alefosio and Cook Islander Mata Kaiaruna on the ukelele. The established dance trio Polytoxic made up of Efeso Fa’anana, Lisa Fa’alifi and Leah Shelton brought their Brisbane version of ‘fale aitu’ comedy with the piece ‘Green Bananas’. The Samoan Soprano Daphne Collins sung Samoan lullabies un-accompanied while Murri performer Stephen Oliver danced to known pop tunes. BACKGROUND + CONTEXT The APT is the first major Australian event to devote attention to the uniqueness embodied in Pacific body adornment and design. This is a creative area from Aotearoa New Zealand that is little-known to Australian and international audiences. The Pasifika Divas explored the unique form of Pacific humour and its deeply subversive content, an example of which is the fale aitu in Samoa. ‘Buckwheat’ compered the evening using razor sharp wit. The subtext of the performance sought to challenge perceptions of imposed forms of sexuality, deliberately engaging with the idea of gender constructions and their fluidity. The fa’afafine are a Pacific community known for their many creative initiatives and their sense of fale aitu satire in performance. The extravagance and political and culturally provocative nature of the performance was intended to draw attention to the incredible diversity of human experience in Aotearoa New Zealand and the way that this inspires design in both fashion and body adornment. The cultural, political and aesthetic content addressed and espoused by the Pasifika Divas event was further enlightened through the discussions presented in the public program of events at which Lisa Taouma, Shigeyuki Kihara and Buckwheat presented artists talks and or were part of international discussion panels. A key note lecture was given by the vibrant Maori academic, Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku who discussed her research on body adornment, tattooing and sexual politics. Buckwheat, Pasifika Divas, ‘In performance’ event Shigeyuki Kihara, Pasifika Divas, ‘In performance’ event 32