Emerging artist Iata Peautolu, in front of an image depicting Pukehinahina, at his exhibition opening at the Incubator. Photo/Andrew Warner
Emerging artist Iata Peautolu, in front of an image depicting Pukehinahina, at his exhibition opening at the Incubator. Photo/Andrew Warner
"This is my identity. There is a noble side to our culture, and a savage side too. I am a noble savage, trying to navigate this urban landscape, and colonisation which has so affected my people. It is a continuous journey to remain noble."
Bay artist Iata Peautolu addressed thelarge crowd gathered under the stars at the Incubator art hub in Tauranga's Historic Village to celebrate the opening of his first solo exhibition, A Noble Savage.
Peautolu's family serenaded guests with waiata at the powerful opening ceremony, which also marked the start of the city's Matariki celebrations.
An emotional Peautolu told the crowd the art in the exhibition was a tribute to his "savage heritage", to his Niuean father who sailed from the tropical island to Aotearoa "thinking it would be better here", and his Maori mother, from the small Bay coastal town of Te Kaha.
"Back in 1774, English navigator Captain James Cook tried three times to land on Niue but three times he failed. Cook recorded that the 'brutal natives' would not allow him access, and named Niue 'Savage Island'. That is my father's island. He was born and raised there. It is a simple lifestyle, you live off the land. Niu means coconut, and my father used to say he was a 'savage coconut'. And I am too, and proud to be."
Peautolu's art is informed by his father's journey from Niue, via Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, until he eventually arrived in New Zealand and met and married a Maori woman, one of 13 brothers and sisters, from Te Kaha.
"My mother had a simple life too, she was a hard worker, like all her family. They had four kids - I am one. We were brought up with the same simple lifestyles and at the heart there were good morals, and a strong sense of family, and common values and beliefs."
Patterns, symbols, seeded flowers, star formations and ocean currents, chin tattoos and full facial tattoos, they are all different markings, motifs and symbols within his body of work which represent his identity, and which all tie back to his heritage and upbringing, he says.
But this is no tourist book nod to a tropical paradise, nor a sanitised version of Maori history. While Peautolu conveys the beauty of his culture, the works also reflect conflict, suffering, and brutal loss of life, with a sense of pride and even rebellion.
"My art is an attempt to communicate to people that there is a noble side to our culture, and there is a savage side too. There is pride in both sides. Whilst there is a perception of the Pacific Islands being havens of paradise, we also have a very savage and barbaric history. I have chosen to highlight the savageness in my body of work but there are also noble yet beautiful attributes attached to the tattoos, where they were once seen as markings of evil."
Exhibition opening for emerging artist Iata Peautolu at the Incubator. Photo/Andrew Warner.
There are clear references in his work to bloodshed and land wars, with one standout piece depicting scenes from Pukehinahina during the Battle of Gate Pa, with an image of head soldier Rawiri Puhirake, one of the leaders of Ngai Te Rangi in the 1800s who led the defence of Tauranga's Maori land against British troops when they stormed the pa.
There is an image of Maori chief Pene Taka Tuaia, the engineer who designed the pa, and Henare Wiremu Taratoa, another Ngai Te Rangi leader famous for his chivalry towards wounded British soldiers. The painting carries stark images of guns and Maori flags dripping with blood.
Other works also nod to the bloodshed and slaughter in New Zealand's history, but celebrate the beauty of both the natural world and its people.
Paintings of Maori women convey both a fierceness and the dark side of history, but also a sense of beauty and hope for the future. In one, black swathes one corner of the portrait, but her eye depicts a serene vision of Mauao.
"Colonisation has stained our cultural threads but we strive to maintain our uniqueness in this ever-changing world. Tatatau and ta moko are the etchings of a noble race, the markings of identity and the green lines that unite beauty and savagery."
There is a clear urban influence too in his Polynesian/Maori designs. Peautolu studied art and graphic design at Waikato Polytechnic and has worked in graphic design and advertising in New Zealand and Hawaii. He also has an impressive portfolio as a tattoo artist and in 2014 gained fifth place at the International Polynesian Tattoo Awards.
My art is an attempt to communicate to people that there is a noble side to our culture, and there is a savage side too.
These influences, combined with his love of hip-hop music and culture, mean that while he is using traditional Polynesian cultural motifs, symbols and traditions, he adds his own contemporary flair and often graphic feel.
Peautolu's first solo exhibition is part of an initiative created by the Incubator and sponsored by the TCC community development match fund. The programme enables emerging artists to be paired with six established artists over a 12-month period.
Nick Eggleston, an experienced local artist, is Peautolu's mentor. The show is curated by John Baxter, while the event itself is managed by The Incubator's director Simone Anderson and her dedicated team.
the fine print What: A Noble Savage - art exhibition by Iata Peautolu Where: The Incubator When: Until June 15
