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Pati Solomona Tyrell
FÄgogo
8 June – 21 June
ST PAUL St Gallery
Central Auckland
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FÄgogo in Samoan refers to fables that are told in a shared context. The receiver of a FÄgogo is vested with an expectation to share the story, making it their own and then passing it on. Pati Solomona Tyrell’s work unpacks the colonial gaze placed on queer brown bodies in an attempt to return gender and sexually diverse identities back to their oracle status.
In Pati Solomona Tyrell’s practice, fÄgogo is situated as a restorative practice, shared with other artists and collaborators from the Pasifika LGBTQI space in Aotearoa.  In the film that gives this exhibition its title, the research, writing, choreography, styling and garment construction is all collaborative and honours the tradition of fÄgogo by sharing the responsibility of telling this story and allowing artists to respond to their own cultural heritage, unpacking the colonial gaze placed on queer brown bodies to return gender and sexually diverse identities back to their oracle status.  The exhibition will draw out threads of this conversation by presenting many of Tyrell’s other narratives, such as his extensive documentation of the community over five years as the principle photographer for the FAFSWAG Arts Collective.  Throughout the exhibition, Gallery Two will be dedicated as an open space for hosting, performance, sharing research and discussion.
Performance Showcase
7pm Friday 30 June
Vogue Night
8pm Friday 14 July
Artists’ Talk
11am Saturday 22 July
All events to be held at ST PAUL St Gallery, and all are welcome. Â Please check our Facebook page for full details, and additional events throughout the exhibition. Â Contact sgallery@aut.ac.nz for further information.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. Image: Pati Solomona Tyrell, FA’AAFA, 2015. Courtesy of the artist.
Opens 5:30pm on Wednesday 7 June
Hours 10-5 Tuesday-Friday, 12-4 Saturday
Where AUT University, 40 St Paul Street
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