Sofia Tekela-Smith: Sousou / 24 October - 18 November 2006

Sofia Tekela-Smith is part of a small group of contemporary Pacific Island artists working in the medium of body adornment. Her current exhibition Sousou signifies a continuation of her exploration into her connection with her family, her land and childhood through her art. The exhibition title, Sousou literally translates as ‘distant or far away’ and acknowledges Sofia’s distance between her permanent home in New Zealand and the island of Rotuma where she grew up. Much of Sofia’s work to date, including the adornments in her current exhibition, are inspired by her memories of Rotuma. As considered by the artist, "memory is very important in studying my personal history. Distance has made my memories ambiguous; often it fades into a mythical vision because my memory is fragile and transient in nature, and sometimes it is hard to know what is real and which memories I have actually manufactured". (Sofia Tekela-Smith, Artist Statement, 2006)

Sofia has created a series of works based on the traditional tefui form that is unique to Rotuma. These adornments are elaborately designed star-shaped garlands, made from odoriferous flowers or leaves which are placed and secured with woven vines. These garlands or fui are components which are usually attached to necklaces and worn on special occasions. Tefui adorn men and women on Rotuma; women wear tefui consisting of five fui; men are able to wear five or seven and a child wears three fui. Sofia’s works appropriate this traditional star-shaped form while using combinations of materials that are far removed from the organic materials used on the island. She employs materials such as mother of pearl, sterling silver, enamel paint and waxed thread. As considered by Sofia, the materials used in her Tufui Series are reflective of her situation, living in New Zealand, slightly removed from her homeland. Her choice of materials enables her to explore "the memory and distance between my thumb and forefinger - the vasousou, the space between my memories lived and where I live now". (Sofia Tekela-Smith, artist statement, 2006)

In conjunction with her works made from mother of pearl and sterling silver, Sofia has created an installation of fui made by the hands of her relatives on Rotuma. These particular works are made from florist ribbon and wool. The colour of the wool, red and blue, is specific to her village of Pepjei. These works act as a visual connection between family members on Rotuma and the work produced by Sofia in New Zealand.