Category: two water shows

Events, two water shows

Friday Night Talanoa: MahMah Timoteo

This Friday 7 May, we are excited to be hosting a kickback Friday night talanoa with Ōtautahi-based educator, activist and social media maven, MahMah Timoteo.

Honouring the current exhibition, big islands deep oceans – a solo exhibition of maps of the Pacific ocean floor by David Garcia, MahMah Timoteo will be discussing her current doctoral research that centres indigenous voices in climate change narratives.

Both David Garcia and MahMah Timoteo will be travelling from Ōtautahi / Christchurch for the event, where they are both PhD candidates at the University of Canterbury.

big islands deep oceans is a body of work that invites us to reconsider the role maps play in our understanding of the Pacific ocean, “… the seas of islands of the Pacific do not end at the shoreline and reefs. They continue as massive submarine structures and habitats that evolve with the water and atmosphere over time. The land/sea binary, while convenient for many, is a false notion, yet many maps operate on such binary, among other binaries.” ~ David Garcia

MahMah Timoteo first visited Vunilagi Vou in February where she participated in a the FATFEB Talanoa discussing the role of social media in creating a community of fat liberation in Aotearoa. Alongside Siobhan Tumai and Meagan Kerr, MahMah brought a strong dose of real talk and wicked humour!

Back in the hood in a different capacity, MahMah will discuss her doctoral research, entitled ‘Akarongo, ‘Āpi‘i, Arataki – Listen, Learn, Lead – Our ancestors guide us. Amplifying Indigenous Voices in Climate Change Narratives.Decolonising Climate Change Spaces.

“Centring indigenous voices is crucial to the prosperity and well-being of not only marginalised populations but also the survival of our entire planet. By undertaking this research, we are able to dismantle and disrupt the very values and beliefs that limit our understandings of indigenous environmental knowledge. Nations of people that have contributed the least to this current climate crisis are now being impacted the most by its consequences. These are the communities that should have their voices heard, acknowledged and centred.  

My study aims to demonstrate the importance of Pacific indigenous lived experiences throughout climate change narratives and activism. By critically analysing current global climate change narratives and discussions, this research identifies how different power dynamics exist within storytelling, shaping the way people understand climate change and bringing fourth decolonised methods of addressing our world’s climate crisis.” ~ MahMah Timoteo

This is set to be an inspiring and disruptive talanoa!

Entry is free, but snacks and drinks to share, and donations are welcome.

Parking is limited, so ride sharing is recommended.

Doors open at 6pm – seating is on the ground, but some chairs will be available for those who need them. Vunilagi Vou 2.0 is wheelchair accessible but does not have a disability friendly bathroom.

Vunilagi Vou is located at 26 Laureston Avenue, Papatoetoe, South Auckland.

Event enquiries? Send us a message here:

Events, Exhibitions, two water shows

Talanoa & Hustle

During the 2021 Auckland Art Fair, I participated in a panel discussion that was part of the ‘A Base of People’ series curated by Remco de Blaaij (Director of Artspace Aotearoa) entitled, Parallel Worlds, a new imagination on internationality. I had the privilege of speaking alongside Auckland gallerist, Tim Melville, Melbourne-based curator and writer, Kimberley Moulton and Porirua-based curator, Ioana Gordon-Smith; check it out here:

Vunilagi Vou’s Autumn 2021 season, two water shows runs until 12 May at The Alexander Cafe in Otara and Vunilagi Vou 2.0 in Papatoetoe.

  • Make an appointment to view David Garcia‘s solo exhibition, big islands deep oceans at Vunilagi Vou here.
  • Check out Antonio Filipo‘s solo exhibition, Ngāti Ōtara at The Alexander Cafe during business hours: Monday – Friday, 7am-3pm and Saturday, 8am – 2pm. The Alexander Cafe is located at 4/100 Alexander Crescent, Otara, South Auckland.

On Saturday 10 April, we hosted a floor talk with David Garcia on Instagram; David offered generous insights to the thinking and making of the nine beautiful map works in the exhibition, check it out here:

The Vunilagi Vou online shop was established after Auckland’s fourth Covid-19 lockdown in a year and it has been quietly humming away. Unfortunately, due to lengthy and unpredictable international shipping timeframes, we are currently only shipping within Aotearoa New Zealand. Grateful to everyone who has purchased Vunilagi Vou stock, largely remaining from our Ōtāhuhu premises (Vunilagi Vou 1) where our retail arm was a fairly significant part of the business.

The top sellers since the shop opened last month are:

The Struggle (2019) by Ema Tavola / Nicole Lim, poster print, 420x594mm, NZ49

NB Not Today Coloniser badge, produced to support the work of Tū Tonu, NZD10

100% Pure Fijian Waka – 250g bags of kava from Kadavu and Saqani, NZD30/35

We’re also proud to be stocking a small range of Vunilagi Vou goods at Avondale-based creative enterprise, Moana Fresh, who have a pop-up coming up at the end of the month:

Next month, we are excited to be hosting Ōtautahi-based educator and social media maven, MahMah Timoteo for the second time this year! MahMah blew the audience away during the FATFEB Talanoa here in February with her oratory excellence – she is an incredibly engaging speaker, deeply passionate and wickedly funny!

Photo credit: charlierosecreative

In honour of David Garcia’s solo exhibition, big islands deep oceans at Vunilagi Vou, which pays deep homage to the Pacific ocean, MahMah will join us for a talanoa to discuss her current research that centres indigenous Pacific Islander voices in climate change narratives.

My study aims to demonstrate the importance of Pacific indigenous lived experiences throughout climate change narratives and activism. By critically analysing current global climate change narratives and discussions, this research identifies how different power dynamics exist within storytelling, shaping the way people understand climate change and bringing fourth decolonised methods of addressing our world’s climate crisis.

~ MahMah Timoteo

Along with special guests to be announced, this talanoa will take place at Vunilagi Vou 2.0 from 6pm on Friday 7 May.

Space is limited, entry is free but donations are welcome! Located in a residential cul-de-sac, Vunilagi Vou 2.0 does not offer extensive car parking options so ride sharing is recommended. Find a map and venue address here.

Yoga & Meditation classes at Vunilagi Vou have been drawing together a broad cross-section of our local community. If you know anyone who would benefit from these classes, they are designed to make the benefits of yoga and meditation accessible to South Auckland communities and all levels of ability are welcome. Drop instructor Gamo Farani Tomlin a text on 021 1001448 or send a DM on Instagram to book a spot – classes have an 8 person capacity and run on Mondays at 5.30pm and Wednesdays at 10.30am at Vunilagi Vou.

Finallly, a new exhibition curated by Julia Albrecht and Stephanie Endter is opening at the end of this month at Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, entitled Hidden in Plain Sight. Invited to participate as an artist, I made an extension of the 2019 Vunilagi Vou exhibition, Lain Blo Yu Mi – Our People Our Lines focusing on the work of Melanesian mark maker, Julia Mage’au Gray. The work is an autoethnographic photo essay on the transformative nature and process of Julia’s work in relation to my veiqia, Fijian female tattoo.

Photo by Ella Carling

My work sits alongside artwork and ideas by FrauHerr Meko (Darmstadt, Germany), Kitso Lynn Lelliott (Johannesburg, South Africa), Joana Tischkau (Frankfurt/Berlin, Germany) and Shan Goshorn (Tulsa, USA).

If you’re in Frankfurt, check it out!

vinaka vakalevu

Artwork for Sale, Community, Exhibitions, two water shows

“Flying a drone is like being a bird” ~ Antonio Filipo on his first solo // #twowatershows

Ōtara-based artist, Antonio Filipo is currently showing as part of two water shows, Vunilagi Vou’s 2021 Autumn season. His first solo exhibition, Ngāti Ōtara is currently showing at The Alexander Cafe, a new start-up enterprise in a converted warehouse in Ōtara, South Auckland. The exhibition is a love letter to Ōtara, where the artist was born and raised, a place he is proud to call home. I asked Antonio some questions about his work…

What do you enjoy about these photographs?

These photographs are images of home and my surroundings. I have lived in Ōtara, South Auckland all my life and Ngāti Ōtara park is a beautiful place. It’s a place where I like to walk and run, and to be out in nature. There are times when I’m out in the park, and I wonder what the landscape must have looked like 30, 60 or even 100 years ago. These photographs show a sense of connection to the land and water that surrounds me and I enjoy and respect that connection.

What is your relationship to the land and waterways depicted in this body of work?

Behind my family home, we have a small channel of water. My siblings, who are much older than I am, played in this waterway with the other kids who lived on our street during the 70s. I played in that waterway as well, feeding the eels bread, climbing trees and just doing what little boys do.

These are just a few memories I have growing up about the land my family house is built on, and the waterway in our backyard. This waterway is one of many channels that run behind houses in Ōtara; they all connect to a larger body of water, and run into the Ōtara Lake. The lake sits next to the Ōtāhuhu power station, and flows into the Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary. So, I like to think that I’m part of, and connected to the waters and the land that have been part of my life all these years.

The photographs show how a small waterway behind my house connects to me, and all of us in Ōtara, through the water, land and sky. I want to portray how beautiful Ōtara really is and share that perspective with our community.

What do you enjoy about the perspective of drone photography?

In 2017, a good mate of mine purchased a drone and would go on and on about how much fun he was having shooting aerial shots and clips from above. Eventually, I caved and purchased a drone too. My mate wasn’t wrong. This became a new hobby and almost everyday I would be out at the park or taking it on my travels shooting aerial shots and just trying to be a better pilot.

Flying a drone is like being a bird. It’s the bird’s eye perspective from the sky that I enjoy the most. The view of the waters and landscape is amazing and I’ve grown such a strong appreciation of what surrounds me, and for living in Ōtara. There are times I really don’t believe Ōtara looks like this when I’m flying across our skies. Especially during sunset – it is really beautiful.

The Waterway (2020)
About Antonio Filipo…

Of Tokelau and Portuguese descent, New Zealand-born artist Antonio Filipo (b.1980) resides today where he was born and raised, in Ōtara, South Auckland. Taught by renowned Moana Oceania educators Mr Palalagitoa Manetoa and the late Mr Ian George in his senior years at Hillary College, Antonio was encouraged to further his arts education and went on to study Graphic Design at Manukau School of Visual Arts, graduating in 2003.

Antonio started making drone photography in 2017 and quickly grew a deep appreciation for the Ōtara landscape from the sky. Whilst Ngāti Ōtara Park was familiar terrain on foot, the park’s waterways, bridges and surrounding industry and neighbourhoods uncover how nature and humans quietly co-exist in the hood.

Instagram @ubucanfly

Ngāti Ōtara is on until 12 May 2021 at The Alexander Cafe, 4/100 Alexander Crescent, Ōtara, South Auckland. Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 7am-3pm, Saturday, 8am-2pm.

two water shows is part of Vunilagi Vou’s 2021 exhibitions programme produced with support from our 2020 BoostedxMoana crowdfunding campaign and the generosity of 118 wonderful donors – vinaka vakalevu!

Photo credit (above): Instagram user, @kaiwith_mata

Sales & Exhibition Enquiries

All work in Ngāti Ōtara is for sale; send us a message to enquire.