Gillies grew up surrounded by ngatu and has for many years worked with her mother, renowned ngatu artist Sulieti Fieme鈥檃 Burrows MNZM.
鈥淚鈥檓 very drawn to tapa, I鈥檝e been surrounded by it since I was baby until I was 18,鈥 Gillies says. 鈥淢y room was like a tapa womb; I grew up with this warm earthy tapa covering the walls. I thought it was normal.鈥
Ngatu is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, soaked and pounded to create a fine paper that is glued together with tapioca starch and painted with kupesi (images).
鈥淭apa/ngatu is听very important and significant to our Tongan culture. It's听used听for ceremonies and special occasions such as graduations, births, weddings and so on. We听have听a royal family in Tonga听and听sometimes a听big 150-foot听tapa is听rolled out听like a red carpet听for royals to walk on,鈥澨齭he says.
Together with her mother, Gillies creates artworks combining traditional materials and techniques with contemporary elements.
鈥淪ome of my work is a bit political,鈥 Gillies says in relation to her use of religious imagery that gained public attention and caused ripples in the more traditional parts of her family.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 mean to be political; I鈥檓 just doing what I have a calling for. The painting,听Woman On The Cross, I was just reminding us that women are important, and we do so much as mothers, wives, and in our role in society.鈥
With works exhibited and sold in Aotearoa and internationally, and national recognition courtesy of a 2018 Creative New 蘑菇视频在线观看Heritage Arts Award, Gillies and Burrows are established artists who receive regular invitations to travel overseas to share their skills.
A recent workshop was at the 2023 Malama Honua 鈥 Indigenous Perspectives on Sustainability conference in Hawaii. Gillies and Burrows helped participants make a mini ngatu together, which they painted and gifted to the conference host. It was a moving experience, Gillies says.
鈥淚t was a听reminder that when you get a group of people together, just like we do in our traditional Tongan culture called koka'anga, we create ngatu, talk, laugh,听and听cry, like a healing space. In Hawai鈥檌听we all painted and it was a healing process, very emotional.鈥
Gillies is dedicating her first month in 艑tautahi Christchurch to research, and she is grateful to have access to and support from UC鈥檚 facilities, libraries and wide range of experts. From February to April 2024, she鈥檒l create a body of work focusing on the theme of ocean health and sustainability, which is particularly pertinent for Pacific nations due to looming threats including sea level rise, overfishing and ocean warming.
蘑菇视频在线观看 students and staff are in for a treat as Gillies plans to hold a workshop to share her love of ngatu during her residency.
罢丑别听蘑菇视频在线观看 Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies artist鈥檚 residency, funded by Creative New Zealand, is open to artists working across a variety of mediums who work听creatively with themes of environmental protection, climate crisis response and community sustainability.听
