Ashley Tofa

Samoa ma le Tupuaga mai o Talitonuga

Elam Page
EFKS Vaitele Fou

It proves difficult to understand Christianity within Samoa without first gaining an understanding of the Samoan Indigenous religion and how the past has contributed to how we see and view the world. My intention within these images was to pay homage to figures of power before Christianity was introduced to Samoa by embracing the prestige these female goddesses held. I have purposefully chosen these myths of woman, as these were the first sculptures introduced to me at the EFKS Museum made by the Leulumoega School of Fine Arts students in Samoa.

Female figures of pre-christian times are rarely spoken about nowadays which contribute to their privation of acknowledgment. Being able to convey these stories through a self-portrait approach has allowed for them to come to life through my being. These images represent a moment of my learning.

The quality and edit of the images was purposeful, emphasising colour to evoke the sense of idol-ship and black as a representation of the concept va, the in - between, the sacred space which I intentionally leave for the viewer to interpret. 

1
Taema ma Tilafaiga
4
Nafanua
3
Leutogipaitea
5
Sina ma Tuna
2
Loimata o Apaula

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