Being a mother and running a household has not stopped Luisa Fonua from carving a niche as an artist.
Fonua’s passion for art and painting has seen doors of opportunity open up for her.
The latest was an exhibition at the Papakura Art Gallery in Auckland, New Zealand that which featured traditional Tongan Ngatu.
Fonua with teamed up with Tanya Edwards to showcase art pieces that are incorporated with traditional printing techniques that are not used anymore.
Ngatu is the Tongan name given to tapa cloth or decorated bark cloth.
“My inspiration are my mother and grandmother and I was honoured when my work was displayed at the Papakura Art Gallery, “Fonua said.
She said she worked very hard on her artwork and was truly honoured to see it on display.
Fonua added that the exhibition was an amazing experience and she met a lot of creative and inspirational people.
“Overall it was a great way to help try and revive an art form which has been lost to cheaper and easier techniques. I just want to keep working on Ngatu and learning more about this art form and hopefully keep exhibiting,” she said.
Fonua operates a souvenir business line from home and is happy with her work.
“I do not get time to do these artworks as I would like but in my free time, I try at least one painting project,” she said.
Fonua’s work features contemporary Tongan art with the use of traditional methods
“I think traditional Tongan art particularly Ngatu is a beautiful art form. When Ngatu is made using these traditional methods you can see the quality, the time and effort that is put into Ngatu,” she said.
Speaking on the slow demise of traditional methods of art, Fonua said there should be an initiative to revive the skills.
“I know there are some schools that teach these techniques as a part of Tongan Studies but I don’t really see any organization actively trying to educate and inform the community on a regular basis. In this time and culture these things can easily be forgotten,” she said.
The artist is urging Tongans to concentrate on what they are good at.
“If your talent is art then you are lucky that Tonga is abundant in history and culture that you can draw inspiration from,” Fonua said.
Photo supplied
