Unveiling Forever Stories: Celebrating Iosua To'afa's Influence on Pacific Art

Written by Breanna Tugaga-Rogers

The artwork that brought Samoan aganu’u and our Myths and Legends to Life! 

For Samoan Language Week a great way to dive into the celebrations of Gagana Sāmoa is to  honour the legacy of Iosua To’afa, a pioneer of Samoan contemporary art who designed the artwork in the ‘Tala o le Vavau’ book that is the go- to reference for so many people around the globe. 

‘Tusiata o le Tala o le Vavau’ is a new book paying homage to pioneering Samoan artist Iosua To'afa, illustrator of 1976's iconic ‘Tala o le Vavau: Myths and Legends of Samoa’ that most Samoan’s have referenced at some stage in life. 

Featuring reflections from Albert Wendt, Momoe Malietoa von Reiche, Sean Mallon and Marilyn Kohlhase, as well as assorted friends, family, and students - the book is a deeply personal account of To'afa's life and the ongoing influence of his work. 

This book and its accompanying exhibition also showcases original work by nine Aotearoa-based Samoan visual artists - renowned contemporary practitioners like Andy Leleisi'uao, Raymond Sagapolutele and Siliga David Setoga, alongside those more emerging - all inspired by the famous 1976 book and To'afa's art. 

‘TUSIATA O LE TALA O LE VAVAU: Artists of the Forever Stories’ launched at Māngere Arts Centre recently, that’s dedicated to the life and talent of Iosua To’afa, who Samoan literary icon Albert Wendt described as “ahead of his time”.

Published in 1976, the original ‘Tala O Le Vavau’  was one of the first books printed in the Samoan language that told the stories of pre-Pālagi Samoa in both English and Samoan. An important piece of recorded history and culture for the Samoan community, To’afa published forty-five of his original illustrations in this, marking the beginning of his wide influence across the Pacific.

Along with the launch of TUSIATA, featuring personal reflections about To’afa from some of the Pacific’s most distinguished, Saturday also marked the opening of an art exhibition featuring the work of 9 contemporary Samoan artists, who are showcasing pieces that interpret To’afa’s art.

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The lineup of iconic Pasifika artists include Andy Leleisi’uao, Siliga David Setoga, Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi, Serene Hodgman, Monica Paterson, Alison Leauanae, Raymond Sagapolutele, Teuila Va’aelua and Linda Va’aelua. The gallery displayed To’afa’s original work on one side and the inspired works paralleling it on the other which presented a dramatic  contrast to the new works. 

The launch was definitely a labour of love and a dedication of the utmost respect, which becomes even more apparent and heartwarming when discovering that the curator of the exhibition and the woman responsible for compiling the book, Linda Va’aelua, is the niece of Iosua To’afa.

“[My uncle], he's very sick. He’s had Parkinson's disease for quite some time, and so now he's completely bedridden and nonverbal. So I wanted to make sure I did something while he's still alive… I just wanted to bring honour to him. We need more of our written art history, you know, there's not a lot of content out there, so that's the way we do it. We write our own,” says Va’aelua . 

Linda Va’aelua is a multidisciplinary artist with years of treasured experience under her belt, having been the first Pasifika art director for NZ Woman’s Weekly and the designer of the award-winning book, ‘NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women’. 

Growing up, her uncle always encouraged her creative side. Whenever she visited Samoa she said they would tie dye ‘ie and screenprint his original artwork on t-shirts. Looking up to her uncle as an artist made her realise at a young age that pursuing art was an actual career path, and that’s exactly what she did.

The launch of TUSIATA was truly a family affair, and one that was multigenerational. Not just in the way that To’afa inspired generations of artists and leaders but it was also an homage to his creative bloodline, as the exhibition featured three generations of their aiga’s art.

Va’aelua’s daughter, Teuila, To’afa’s grand niece, is the youngest in the exhibition at 17-years-old, displaying her striking photographs alongside many notable artists.

“I never really envisioned being able to exhibit my work in the same space as my mum or my great uncle. So having it all come into fruition so early on is surreal,” says Teuila.

The Māngere community showed up en masse to support the launch. With the beautiful artwork decorating the gallery space, it was an emotional collective viewing experience of our Pacific creativity. Tears were shed during speeches, and To’afa’s brothers were present in the crowd. 

The book itself is a publication of authentic storytelling, for a great figure who could not join us on this day. As Va’aelua said, her uncle never really got the recognition he deserved here in New Zealand but with this launch, we’ve hopefully begun to properly acknowledge the significant influence of Iosua To’afa here in Aotearoa and his place in the history of Pacific art.

‘TUSIATA O LE TALA O LE VAVAU: Artists of the Forever Stories’ is showing at Māngere Arts Centre until the 15th of July.

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Photos by Geoffery Matautia for Māngere Arts Centre