08Jun

21Jun

Fāgogo | Pati Solomona Tyrell

Pati Solomona Tyrell

Fāgogo

8 June – 21 June

ST PAUL St Gallery

Central Auckland

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Exhibition Details

Fāgogo in Samoan refers to fables that are told in a shared context. The receiver of a Fāgogo 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, fāgogo 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 fāgogo 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.

PUBLIC PROGRAMME

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.  Please check our Facebook page for full details, and additional events throughout the exhibition.  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.

ST PAUL St Gallery

Opens 5:30pm on Wednesday 7 June
Hours 10-5 Tuesday-Friday, 12-4 Saturday
Where AUT University, 40 St Paul Street