Para Site presents the touring exhibition which features a rich array of Tongan art practices referred to as koloa, focused upon the main categories including: ngatu or bark cloth making, and fine weaving such as ta’ovala garments and ceremonial mats, as well as kafa or woven rope.
Alongside these is a selection of bark cloth and textiles works from the broader Pacific world, highlighting the practices of exchange, the circulation of and connections between objects, forms, and ideas. The term koloa denotes value and is understood in this context in relation to the wealth and self-empowerment of the women who make these art objects. First opened in Tonga, the exhibition expands its scope in Hong Kong featuring three women artists whose works further reflects upon the status of Pacific textile as inseparable manifestations of art and technology.
The exhibition is curated by Tunakaimanu Fielakepa, the Dowager Lady Fielakepa, and co-curated by Cosmin Costinas, Executive Director, Curator of Para Site, Hong Kong and Vivian Ziherl, Director of Stitching Frontier Imaginaries, Amsterdam.