My talk notes from yesterday.

I gave a talk yesterday to my Contemporary class. I had to select an NZ Artist and give a seminar about the Artist in relation to my own work. It didnt have to be long, 5mins tops. Here are some of the stuffs I said. and some of my own personal comments I discussed with my class.

Edith Amituanai

• 1st generation NZ Born Samoan
• Graduated from Unitech with a Bachelor of Design 2005
• Exhibitions incl. Dateline: Contemporary Art from the Pacific
  Le Folauga
  Offside
• Announced the inaugural winner of the Marti Friedlander Photography Award 2007
• Shortlisted for Walters Prize 2008
  I went to the Wallace Trust Gallery last year in September/October to see these photographs. I sat down from being in awe of the photographs, had to sit down, the size of the photographs were breathtaking. Sat down just to look at each one for a few minutes. The more I looked at them, the more I understood the feeling.
  
• Process of selecting and constructing images move beyond a snapshot.
• Pays close attention to the interior and exterior views that frames her subjects.
  I guess the interior and exterior views can relate to the information within her photographs. the relationship between the items in the photographs to the exterior of the idea creates almost a realistic viewing of truth
  
• Portraits are linked with their surroundings.
  When referring back to the photographs of the lounges back in Aukilani, youll find alot of portraits on the walls of family members from the past to current. You'll find these in alot of typical Samoan born Parents.
  
• Work is about relationships and space. Narratives of migration
• 2006 saw her receive a Creative NZ Grant and travel to Europe. Produced a body of work based on professional Samoan rugby players working in Italy and France.
• the 'Dejeuner' series explores temporary migration of her family living and working abroad
• Portraits of young sportsman out in the field and documents their homes back in Aukilani, detailed with mats, furnishings adorned with shelves of suite of photographs.
  I feel the relationship that Edith has with her photographs are the same relationships I feel that I have with my own and with her photographs. I can relate to alot of the imagery and make the connections on a personal based experience.
  
• Evokes a sense of memorial or longing for an absent son and the celebration of achievements.
  
• Photographic essays work on many levels and deals with the concept of continuity and relationship. Implicit in her images are some of the questions she asks herself about her culture when she was growing up. 'Many 1st and 2nd generation NZ born Samoans would look at her photographs and understand the questions shes asking'.
  As I have said above, I can relate and understand the questions shes asking via being a 1st generation NZ born Samoan, its questions I find myself constantly asking myself.
  
• You'll notice framed family portraits in the background are grouped together evoking a family shrine, suggesting a relationship to the past and the homeland through family memories.
  Its almost like a manditory vision when stepping foot into a Samoan house hold. The family shrine quite often has photographs that can date back to the early 1900s to the current. For example, when I go to my Auntie Meaati's and Uncle Silofau Kasitone's house im greeted by a large photograph of both my Aunts and Uncles late parents, adorned in bright colored ula's (Fabric made necklaces) then to continue round I see photographs of everyone else in their family, family that live abroad and family that have passed away. Each photograph it self has a narrative via the process of the photograph to the setting. Some early photographs were taken by photographers that were in Samoa documenting what they percieved as being a dying race. It makes me giggle sometimes, i see pictures of my great great grandmother and grandfather with fake backgrounds of palmtrees.
  

A few examples of my own photographs are shown in this blog etc etc
I find that with Ediths work I enj0y the Portraits the most. I dont really know how to explain it, but I just love the feeling of being able to look at the expressions. idk. I <3 Portraits.

-Mila