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Teuane Tibbo The Village

from Twenty, July 2023

from Twenty, July 2023, page 37

Julian Dashper Halley's Comet ...

Sāmoan-born artist Teuane Tibbo only began painting as a seventyone-year-old. Tibbo was never formally trained, but her work demonstrates an innate talent. Within her practice, Tibbo drew on memories of her life in Sāmoa. The results are a body of work that is bright, raw and vivid, with scenes that are distinctive for their rendering of daily life in twentiethcentury Sāmoa, such as fishing, religion and picnics. Hallmarks of Tibbo’s paintings include skewed perspective, uniform compositions, and bright palettes that create a smorgasbord for the eyes.

The early years of Tibbo’s life are shrouded in mystery. From her work, it is clear that her childhood was a poignant time, as her early memories and experiences influenced her delightful artworks. We do know that Tibbo was born shortly after the First Sāmoan Civil War, and in 1926 she moved to Fiji with her husband. In 1945 Tibbo and her husband settled in Tāmaki Makaurau with their children.

Tibbo started painting in the 1960s. She swiftly established herself as a prominent figure in the Auckland art scene, with the iconic Barry Lett acting as her art dealer and representative. Tibbo’s artwork has been acquired by several public institutions, such as Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Hocken Collections and the National Gallery of Australia. Following her death, Tibbo’s work has been included in numerous surveys of Pacific art.

The Village is a charming example of Tibbo’s practice. Within the artwork, we see the rich, verdant vegetation of Sāmoa. The dabs of hibiscus red and pops of citrus yellow add variety to the evergreen scene, with the proud palm trees grounding the landscape in the Pacific. The high, domed, earthtoned structures rendered in The Village appear to be fale, which surround a courtyard. The resilient sugarcane roofs of the fale, which are supported by tall posts, are ideal for weathering the tropical rain and humidity, while the courtyard would have been a dynamic space for community gatherings.

Little figures, clad in white, are scattered throughout the scene. In small groups, they weave between the posts of the fale, or walk beneath the tropical canopy of trees. Sāmoa has a strong Christian faith, and most Sāmoans attend a Sunday morning church service, which is followed by a traditional family lunch known as to‘ana‘i. Tibbo’s rendering of a table laden with food, and the fact that the figures are clad in white, attest to the artwork depicting a traditional meal following a church service. The artwork is woven through with community threads; the title, The Village, centres the work as a visual representation and homage to Tibbo’s Sāmoan roots and her lived experience growing up on the island.

This painting is a joy to examine. Tibbo’s brushwork is raw and vivid, capturing the bold, bright setting of Sāmoa. The play on perspective, when paired with the artist’s wonderful splotchy paint style, forms an artwork that invites the viewer to continuously examine and explore the painting. The Village is an artwork that alludes to sensory experiences, such as birdsong overhead, grass beneath one’s feet, and the joy of sharing a meal with friends and family. There is a soft intimacy to this piece, for it is a glimpse of Tibbo’s early life, the community she came from, and ultimately what formed the foundation of her practice.

7 oil signed Fahey and dated '93 in brushpoint lower left 1390 x 535mm

EST $28,000 — $38,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Kapiti Coast. Passed by bequest, 2023; Private collection, Wellington.

1 “Biography: Jacqueline Fahey – Painter/Writer,” The Arts Foundation, https://web.archive. org/web/20150126163719/https:// www.thearts.co.nz/artist_page. php%26aid%3D145%26type%3Dbio

Jacqueline Fahey’s vibrant compositions challenge the status quo of painting in Aotearoa. Her unique approach has stood the test of time and makes her one of New Zealand’s most important living artists.

Fahey was born in Timaru in 1929. She went to boarding school as a child before studying at Canterbury University College School of Art, where she was taught by the likes of Russell Clark and Bill Sutton. While studying she met artists Rita Angus, Doris Lusk and Juliet Peter. Though Fahey’s style is very different from these three artists, she was influenced by the serious professionalism with which they undertook their work. In 1964, Fahey and Angus organised an exhibition at the Centre Gallery in Wellington that purposely included an equal number of male and female artists. This was one of the first exhibitions in Aotearoa to take an intentionally genderbalanced curatorial approach.1

Fahey’s work champions the importance of representing women and their experiences in art. The artist has spoken of the strong female role models she had in her life, such as her mother and grandmother. It is perhaps this upbringing that has influenced her honest depictions of women’s lives, including showing the home, family life, relationships and more. Fahey says, “Art should come from what an artist knows about life, and if what a woman knows is not what a man knows, then her art is going to have to be different.”2 By presenting the private realities of New Zealand women through painting, she challenged previous archetypes of female experiences and what was ‘appropriate’ to depict in art. She was one of the first painters in New Zealand to paint from this perspective, and her work has been closely associated with the women’s and feminist movements of the 1970s and 80s.

Fahey’s work shows the details and disorder of domestic life, but, by playing with perspective and space within the composition, she is also able to disrupt what seems ordinary. Her rich use of colour and pattern, and selection of objects encourage new ways of looking at work. While colour and composition are obviously important in her work, Fahey’s paintings are never abstract. She is steadfast in her commitment to depicting her life and the lives of others. Her images are outspoken, sometimes including actual speech bubbles, and appear at times to be influenced by collage and comic books.

The painting featured here from 1993 is a fascinating example showing Fahey’s typical flattened imagery. We see the artist depicted in the lower right corner, lit strongly, and wearing her signature red lipstick and a large blue sunhat. She is facing away from the figure in the centre, whom we assume to be Fahey’s daughter lazing near what looks like a 1980s Volvo. This central figure appears unconcerned with her mother in the foreground, content with the sand she is lying on. The rocky beach scene extends to the upper edge of the canvas and is painted in browns and blues, with a flock of small birds in the background. The shape of this painting is part of what makes it interesting — Fahey appears to have compressed all the items she wanted to show into a very narrow vertical format. By combining vibrant colours with unexpected compositions, Fahey’s work continues to keep us guessing.

8 Liz Maw

Miss Egypt 2009 and Tom Araya 2010 oil on board signed LIZ MAW, dated '10 and inscribed Miss Egypt 2009 and Tom Araya in brushpoint verso 175 × 290mm

EST $15,000 — $20,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection. Acquired from Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 2010.

Liz Maw Miss Egypt 2009 and Tom Araya

Tāmaki Makaurau based artist

Liz Maw’s paintings are rare, and always feel very intentional. The labour that her work requires is evident in each seamless and glimmering outcome. Each work is painted in a highly detailed and hyperrealistic style, highlighting the possibilities of oil paint in a digital age and confirming that painting is not dead.

Raised Catholic, Maw often draws on this upbringing and references religious icons and symbols in her work, which is stylistically influenced by European Old Masters, and is often ornately framed in a similarly grand style. Maw then subverts these references by reframing them in a twenty-first-century context, drawing connections between historical icon painting and icons of popular culture today. Her work both celebrates and interrogates the distinctions between high and low art and culture.

Miss Egypt 2009 and Tom Araya is a two-panel oil painting of two figures of twenty-first-century pop culture. Tom Araya, vocalist and bassist in American band Slayer, is shown on the right side, as a glowing rock star with guitar in hand. On the left, we see a portrait of Elham Wagdi, winner of the 2009 Miss Egypt pageant, in all her glory. She is dressed in a glamourous gown and headpiece, and holds up what appear to be shiny golden wings, adding a further element of fantasy. It is unclear exactly why Maw chose to bring the two figures together — perhaps there is a deeper connection that has been kept hidden from the viewer. Or perhaps it is simply that a thrash-metal rock star and a glittering pageant queen are indeed the twenty-firstcentury version of religious icons.

9 Peter Stichbury

Grace BubulkaHatmaker, NDE

2018 oil on linen signed P. Stichbury, dated 2018 and inscribed 'Grace Bubulka-Hatmaker, NDE' in ink verso

600 × 500mm

EST $50,000 — $70,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Auckland.

Peter Stichbury

Awarded the prestigious Wallace Art Award in 1997, the same year as his graduation from Elam School of Fine Arts, Peter Stichbury is one of Aotearoa’s most notable figures in contemporary painting. A Stichbury painting is instantly recognisable – often a portrait of a lone figure rendered close-up, with large, wide-set eyes and a languid expression.

With subtle inflections of the supernatural and careful rendering of his subjects, Stichbury’s figures are as polymorphous as they are iconic to the painter’s signature style. His 2018 painting Grace BubulkaHatmaker, NDE is no exception. The work refers to medical professional Grace Bubulka-Hatmaker who experienced a near death experience over a decade ago. Although declared clinically deceased, Grace Bubulka-Hatmaker made a full recovery.

In recent years, Stichbury has presented works that depict subjects who have purportedly survived near death experiences (NDE’s). Within this series, Stichbury brings together psychology, religion, and spirituality to examine the idea of consciousness after death.

The subject of the painting is rendered in the classic head-and-shoulders frontal pose, one that is preferred by Stichbury and is an iconic feature of his work. It is a striking image; the depicted Grace BubulkaHatmaker's stare is poignant, piercing and prophetic. We, as the viewer, cannot help but wonder what has been witnessed.

Here we see a waifish figure staring out beyond the frame, past the viewer. As is the case with Stichbury's work, this character, while expressionless, creates an atmosphere that only a Stichbury painting can. Grace Bubulka-Hatmaker, NDE is instantly recognisable as a Stichbury work, and ties into the wider NDE lexicon of the artist’s practice.

10 Michael Parekōwhai

Fish Alley 2001 c-type print, 8/8

1500 × 1200mm

EST $25,000 — $35,000

Provenance

Private collection, Wellington.

Exhibitions

Another from this edition exhibited in This is New Zealand, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 2018; Michael Parekōwhai: The Promised Land, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, 2015; The Consolation of Philosophy: piko nei te matenga, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, 2004; 14th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, 2004; Nine Lives: The 2003 Chartwell Show, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, 2003.

Michael Parekōwhai's (Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi, Ngāti

Whakarongo) Fish Alley is a captivating and enigmatic photograph that showcases the artist's unique vision and masterful use of color and composition. Created in 2001 as part of a limited-edition series, this C-type photograph captures a simple yet intriguing subject: a vase filled with a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

Parekōwhai's Fish Alley engages with a time-honoured art historical tradition — the floral still life. With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greco-Roman art, still-life painting emerged as a distinct genre and professional specialisation in Western painting by the late 16th century. The floral still life has been reinterpreted throughout the course of art history, and today it is a mainstay of ‘safe’ art and serves as a marker of an anticonceptual image. The photograph's title, Fish Alley, adds to its sense of intrigue and mystery. It invites the viewer to question the connection between the floral arrangement and the title, suggesting that there might be a deeper narrative or symbolic meaning at play.

Fish Alley is a part of Parekōwhai's Consolation of Philosophy: piko nei te matenga series, in which the title of each photograph holds a special significance as it is connected to a place where the Māori Battalion fought in World War I. This historical reference contrasts with the beauty and tranquility of the floral arrangement and prompts the viewer to consider the historical relationship between Māori and Pākehā, as well as the impact that it has had on modern Aotearoa. Throughout his career, Parekōwhai has explored themes of identity, culture, and memory. Although Fish Alley may appear as a departure in style, it captures the essence of his oeuvre.