Words by Jasmine Tuia
Photography by Images courtesy of the artist
Read time 10 minutes
Artists Jasmine Tuia
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Influenced by her familial connections to Matautu Lefaga Sāmoa, Tuiā explores the re-representation and reclamation of Sāmoan identities with tapa using embroidery, earth pigments, plant-dyes and mixed-fibers too. Looking at Sāmoan techniques of storytelling, Tuiā expresses her connections to Siapo through stitched memories of places, people and objects of Matautu Lefaga’s oral-traditions. Her work reinforces the importance of collective practices, Moana voices and contemporary Sāmoan realities.
About Sāmoan siapo or tapa.
Tapa in the Sāmoan context means undecorated bark cloth while Siapo is decorated bark cloth. There are two types of Siapo in Sāmoa, first being the Siapo Mamanu and the other is called Siapo Elei. The Siapo Mamanu describes a freehand method used during the inking process of the Siapo. The latter indicates the process of rubbing ink to transfer the patterns/shapes onto the tapa cloth. In the early times of Siapo in Sāmoa, it was used as clothing, body and head wraps that often indicated one’s status in a within a village council (Roger Neich and Mick Pendergrast 19). Moreover, Siapo was used to wrap the dead and was also saved for special occasions such as gifting and exchange. Often Siapo was produced to cater to the ceremonial rituals and events. Later, Siapo became wearable by village commoners, filtering its status to an everyday use rather than a prized object worn or used exclusively by those with high-ranking status. Eventually Siapo was widely utilised as a domestic object for covering, dividing houses, table mats, bed covers and as decoration or art props. With the aid of new technologies and rapid interests on digital platforms, Siapo now circulates globally within commercial worlds of the arts, institutions and tourism for economic purposes and gain. (Ah Sam, Lauretta 1). - Excerpt from Tuia's Masters exegesis 2021.
Matautu Lefaga
Matautu Lefaga is a village located on the south west coast of Upolu island in Sāmoa. It is where my maternal great-grandmother, grandmother and mother grew up. I was also brought up here for most of my childhood, playing lape (Sāmoan kids’ game) with the neighbourhood children and swimming with my cousins in the weekends. Matautu is a place where my family and memories reside. Recently, I visited Matautu to learn how to make siapo with my grandmother and aunts, with the guidance of my great-grandmother Lemalu, Fa’ataumamatemalesoātau Filiga and siapo mentors Fa’amomoi Iulai and Tusolo Iulai. From this trip, I re-introduced the u’a or paper mulberry plants back to the soils of Matautu Lefaga after decades of the village having lost their tapa/siapo practise. My backyard in Matautu Lefaga, facing the Return to Paradise beach is now occupied with paper mulberry plants nurtured and cultivated by my family back home.
How I use siapo,
I use siapo to look at cultural memory. Through my processes of plant dyes, pigment drawings/ink making and embroidery, I learn about the materiality of Siapo’s role in space-making. My siapo practise began as a form of rest and reflection, looking at contemporary techniques and skills to remember my siapo experiences, knowledge and family stories of siapo. This practise progressed to experimenting with different ways to print, colour and create with siapo. Thus the practise of siapo su’i became a focus. Siapo su’i meansembroidered siapo or siapo with stitiching. This is a describing term for my process of stitching onto siapo. From this practise, I began to experiment a lot with natural resources, like the use od plant/flowers to soak, steam and dye my tapa. I currently still practise eco-dyeing using plants and other sources like onion peels, avocado skins and tea dyes. Furthermore, I have collected and made my own ink from rocks and earth pigments gathered from beaches that I visit with family and friends.