Yuki Kihara: Fa‘afafine Nation

“Speaking with media on the ground and reading subsequent articles, it is evident that what caught people’s attention wasn’t just Paradise Camp’s politics. It was also its vibrancy and irreverent humour. Living in one’s own utopia is infectious. With Paradise Camp, Kihara has created an entire universe set apart from the austerity of many other pavilions. Viewers are immersed in a camp, maximalist fa‘afafine world of floor-to-ceiling Sāmoan imagery, in which the realities of climate change and the legacies of colonial laws sit easily alongside photos of pageant queens and cackling laughter. With a bright-yellow entrance, the New Zealand Pavilion is a pop of colour in a maze of white-and-grey stone.”

Ioana Gordon-Smith reports on the New Zealand pavilion at the Venice Biennale for Art News New Zealand.

Read the full article on Art News New Zealand