IN*TER*IS*LAND COLLECTIVE
ONE MOANA,
MANY MOKU
In*ter*is*land Collective was birthed in the balmy summer of 2018 by Jo Walsh, Ahilapalapa Rands, Lyall Hakaraia and Jessica Palalagi. Synchronicity, destiny, manifestation and magic collided to reveal MOKU - a safe haven for weary tagata Moana and friends... as we grow and evolve we know that MOKU is not only one place - but everywhere we are.
JESSICA PALALAGI
Jessica Palalagi was born in Aotearoa/New Zealand and traces her ancestry to Niue/Nukututaha in Te Moananui a Kiwa and Aberdeen, Scotland. She has an MA in Art History from Auckland University and has most recently been involved in sustainability within the business sector. She is a founding member of In*ter*is*land Collective; a misfit collection of queer, moana artists and activists based around the world. Her artistic focus is born out of the duality of existing in the interstice, the vā, the space between and she constantly seeks meaningful reciprocity in all forms of expression. She is made of the saltiness of all moanas spanning hemispheres, the journeys that her ancestors navigated, the movements of dark to light made by the mahina, the languages that have been lost, the strength of the matriarchs before her and the music of Barry White.
MOEMOE I
MANU AE ALA ATEA TASKER
Momoe Tasker (English / Samoan-Chinese) is a multifaceted punk artist. Born in Taitoko/Levin, raised in London, her work reflects her experiences of the best and worst of both worlds. Momoe's work investigates the marginalisation of women of colour, feminism, abuse, decolonisation and cultural identity through hand block printing/paint/textiles and live performance as vocalist/shared songwriter in GUTTS (queer sax punx band) and drummer in IMMIGRANTI (qtbipoc grime punx band). Through creative activism Momoe aims to break silence and strengthen solidarity within overlooked communities.
LYALL HAKARAIA
Lyall Hakaraia (Māori / Pākehā) is an artistic polymath and producer living in London whose work encompasses designing, curating, Art Directing, and programming a queer arts venue (VFD) in the East End and his work encompasses making communal ritualistic artwork, appearing in front of the camera and dressing celebrities for red carpet events. All of his work reflects his passion for working with marginalised people to create functioning communities. Lyall is proud of his diverse origins and is a founding member of Moku the first pacific arts collective in the UK and Faggamauffin the QTIPOC sound system.
ARIANA DAVIS
Ariana Davis (Māori / Pākehā / Hunk Papa Sioux) is an artist and activist originally from Whakatipu (Queenstown), Aotearoa (New Zealand). As well as creating adornments for the body, her current practice lies in exploring and documenting the places her tupuna went, in her ancestral lands of Te Wai Pounamu. This work is a reclamation of the whenua, telling our own stories as we know them and traversing complicated relationships with cultural identity, honouring whakapapa (ancestry) and traditions in the modern world.
ajFATA
She is way finding through vā in the dimension of now, balancing energies of ancestral narratives for future voices. she finds herself, planting her bones in plantations of taro, resting in the shade of kawakawa leaves, listening to the call of the tui bird.
With waters that flow from the WAIKATO river into OCEANIA - ajFATA also known as aije has held space within her voice for story to be told in Aotearoa and London / / exploring through forms of poetry/film/sound - she finds focus on work that holds honest meaning for more than just us.
she is not one, but many
she is a kete
collector of kupu cultivator of kai.
- //\\ >< //\\ -
SHAKAIAH PEREZ
(Māori / Samoan / Tahitian / Tokelauan / Cape Verdean) also known as Lady Shaka and Travelling Feather is an interdisciplinary artist who draws from her mixed heritage, ancestral linkages and experiences as a trans woman of colour to create art. She is the director of London's first Pacific Club Night known as 'Pulotu Underworld' and is known internationally for her work as a DJ. Her short film Exotic Savage: The Decolonisation has been featured in 3 exhibitions in the UK and France and continues to re-write the Pacific narrative constantly challenging the perception of Tangata Moana.
JAQ BROWN
Artist and community worker, Jaq Brown is Ngāti Manuhiri, Fijian, Sāmoan, Hawaiian and Pākehā. Born in Aotearoa and based in London Jaq Brown draws from her Pacific Island heritage and culture in her work with making lei and hosting workshops to facilitate cultural exchange. Jaq has been and continues to be the lei maker in residence for the In*ter*is*land Collective.
JO WALSH
Jo Walsh (Māori / Pākehā) is a London based artist and arts producer, founding member of the SaVAge K’lub and connector of VIPs - very important (poly)NESIANS.
Jo is an ambassador for decolonisation working with major institutions, an activist for repatriation of ancestral histories and is focused on increasing the volume and quantity of Pacific voices and activations around the world.
SaVAge K'lub Room, APT8, Brisbane, 2015
Photo courtesy of Salvador Brown
AHILAPALAPA RANDS
www.ahilapalapa.com www.moanafresh.com
Ahilapalapa Rands (Hawaiian, Fijian, Pākehā) is a freelance curator, artist and founding member of D.A.N.C.E. art club currently based in London. Through a collaborative approach Ahi is driven to create and imagine alternative ways of exhibition making. This is particularly informed by issues relevant to Indigeneity and investigating ways that settler colonisation has and continues to inform narratives and power dynamics in the Pacific.
AI TAGATA
Aata DeVera // Designer and Writer
Andrea Low // Project Curator of the Pacific at Auckland Museum
Arne Perminow // Department of Anthropology University of Oslo
Billie Lythberg // Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland and Contributing Editor for the Art of Oceania
Charlie Panapa // Singer and Actor
Crystal Te Moananui Squares // Photographer
Dagmar Dyck // Printmaker and Painter
Dr. Phyllis Herda // Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland
Ema Tavola // Curator
FAFswag // Multidisciplinary Arts Collective
Whaea Rae // Traditional Weaver and Cultural Practitioner
Fanny Wonu Veys // Curator Oceania at the National Museum of World Cultures, The Netherlands and President of the
Pacific Arts Association Europe
Frances Lennard // Professor of Textile Conservation, University of Glasgow
Gutts // Music
Hannelee Vaike // Artist and Dancer
Helena Goldwater // Performer and Painter
Heneba Gutchen // Traditional Weaver and Cultural Practitioner
Ihaka Tunui // Writer
Jeanine Clarkin // Designer
Julia Mage’au Gray // Traditional Tattoo Practitioner
Katelyn Notman // Graphic Designer
Vanessa Marjoribanks // Advocate for Empowerment and Social Change
Keri Mei Zagrobelna //Adornment and Jewellery Maker
Keva Rands // Designer
Lana Lopesi // Author, Art Critic and Editor
Leafa Wilson aka Olga Krause //
Experimental Multi-Media Performance
Artist
Leonardo Pakarati // Director and Writer
Louise Broadman // Cultural Practioner
Mark Nesbitt // Ethnobotanist and Curator
of the Economic Botany Collection
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Ma’u Henua // Rapanui Delegations of Academics and Cultural practitioners
Miriama Grace-Smith // Ta moko artist, designer and illustrator
Pelenakeke Brown // Multidisciplinary Artist
Peta-Maria Tunui // Poet and Writer
Rodney Kelly // Aboringal Activist
Salote Tawale // Artist
Salvador Brown // Videographer and Taonga Puoro Artist
Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi // Artist
Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows // Tapa Artist
Tash Vaike // Community Leader and Founder of Beats of Polynesia
Te Ataraiti Waretini // Traditional Weaver and Dancer
Te Maru o Hinemihi // National Trust
Te Ra Ringa Raupa // Weaving Collective
Te Whaimana Robinson // Cultural Practitioner
Tina Makereti // Writer
Tui Emma Gillies // Tapa Artist
KAITAUTOKO
