Mālamalama continues Leauanae’s exploration of the seen and unseen and the known and unknown, interrogating how these ideas shape our relationships with others and the world around us. O le mālamalama ma le pouliuli (light and darkness) are evoked as expressions of knowledge and understanding, with pouliuli evoking a space in which understanding is still unfolding.
The use of cotton and metallic thread on paper extends this metaphor of contrast. These materials exist in tension, both undermining and reinforcing the integrity of the work. Each puncture of the needle compromises the structure of the paper, yet it is bound together by the threads that weave intricate patterns across its surface.
Artist biography
Alison Leauanae is a multidisciplinary artist of Samoan and Pālagi heritage whose work investigates the complexity of human experience through cultural identity, diasporic memory and intergenerational knowledge. Working primarily with hand-stitched cotton on paper, she uses fragile, responsive materials to examine the tension between vulnerability and resilience, inviting reflection on the interconnectedness of personal and collective histories.
Leauanae’s practice draws on traditional Pacific motifs and textile traditions, recontextualised within a contemporary framework to create dialogue between inherited forms and present-day experience. Slow, deliberate and research-driven, her process engages with archival materials, oral histories and Indigenous knowledge systems alongside contemporary approaches.
Each stitch functions as both mark-making and metaphor, grounding her work in a way that honours craft while questioning how cultural narratives are shaped, protected and transformed. Through this quiet yet rigorous approach, Leauanae creates space for reflection on identity, memory and human connection.
Leauanae is currently represented by Bergman Gallery.
