Mālō e lelei! From 17-23 August Pātaka is celebrating Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga – Tonga Language Week. The 2025 theme for Tonga Language Week is ‘Ko 'etau lea, ko e fe’unu mahu’inga ia ki he mo’ui ‘a e Tonga - Our language is a vital strand of our Tongan culture.’
As an artist, who inspires or has inspired you?
My Grandmother, 'Akesa Fifita. She was an artist in ways that continue to shape the way I think about what it means to be successful. She was always finding ways to create with the resources available to her and her intention for making was always to be of service to others, to help to respond to the needs of her family or an important community event.
What do you hope the viewer experiences when they see your work?
Depends on the work and the context or reference point of the viewer. I do often think about the questions that a work might raise for those viewing the work and hope they will seek to learn from the ways it strives to honours the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors, the richness and potency of our fonua or homelands, and explores ideas and perspectives that are shaped by changes in our social and cultural landscape.
Are there any up-and-coming Tongan artists you’re excited about?
So many, in Brisbane where I live it's been wonderful to see the work of groups of creatives like the Matala Navigators Twinnies and the thought they are giving to creating access to language and culture for families and children through the arts, Love seeing the ways that Lagi maama is working with Pasifika artist in Aotearoa drawing from Pasifika perspective and showing examples of how language provides a framework for the way we approach our work in the cultural industries.
Tell us about any current or future projects you’re working on.
I would love to spend more time in vava'u to support the incredible work the community is doing there to reflect on their relationship as custodians of the natural environment. There are a couple of works that I have been a part of that feel unfinished and waiting for the right conditions to be able to continue. So I am looking forward to finding the time and space to work on those
When are you coming back to visit us at Pātaka?!
Would love to explore this further with your team. I have such fond memories of the time I was able to spend there almost a decade ago now!
MORE ABOUT RUHA AND HER PRACTICE
For more than fifteen years Ruha's arts practice has made a dedicated effort to expand her knowledge about the art of Ngatu-making with a particular focus on the ways it guides collaboration and informs pattern-making processes. Ngatu is a style of painted barkcloth that originates from Tonga. It's made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree and is decorated with intricate patterns and designs, often using natural dyes. Ruha’s diverse cultural and spiritual upbringing is often seen in her work and she is a passionate advocate for youth empowerment and social change. Ruha would often include her siblings and extended family to develop work and engage with local communities. This culminated in co-founding the community based arts organisation ‘ON THE SPOT Inc (OTS) that Ruha co-founded in Tonga in 2006. The primary focus was to engage youth in creative projects.
A career changing moment for Ruha happened in 2010 when she met contemporary Aotearoa artist Dame Robin White (Ngāti Awa, Pāhekā). This followed a series of collaborations between artists, galleries and festivals across Australasia and the Pacific including the Auckland Art Festival, The National Gallery of Victoria and the Tjibaou Cultural Centre and Pātaka!
Ruha and Dame Robin collaborated with many other creatives over a number of years to create a monumental installation of ngatu (painted tapa) that exhibited here at Pataka 2015 alongside other stunning pieces by Ruha. The exhibition was described as a hybrid mix of historical and contemporary iconography, patterns and references, that ranged from the Pacific to Western Europe and the Middle East.
We are proud to be highlighting Ruha Fifita’s career and life achievements. She is an awesome cultural ambassador for Tonga and we can’t wait to welcome her back to Pātaka.
Image: Ruha Fifita, Ko e Mataliki ‘o e Mo’ui, 2023
‘Umea (earth pigments), Tongo, Koka (natural dyes) and tuitui (candlenut soot) on feta’aki( barkcloth). Photograph by Sheida Vazir-Zadeh.
