From the perspective of her Indigenous Fijian and Anglo-Australian heritage, Salote Tawale explores the identity of the individual within collective systems. Examining through self-performance, Tawale draws on personal experiences of race, class, ethnicity and gender formed by growing up in suburban Australia.

‘My cultural identity is a constant focus in my art work. I explore inherent conflicts of being from a mixed heritage that simultaneously includes and excludes me from the dominant culture, that is, a colonial Australian society. This is a position of constant dislocation, or more accurately a state of translocation.

My interest in these critical standpoints is based on an attitude of defiant analysis of colonial structures and narratives that persist in contemporary society.’

Tawale completed an undergraduate degree in Media Arts and Masters of Art at RMIT University, Melbourne and a Masters of Fine art and Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney. Having exhibited nationally and internationally most notably at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; Spring Workshop in Hong Kong for Para Site gallery; the FCAC Hearts Jogja tour of Jogakata Indonesia. Tawale undertook a Indigenous Visual and Digital residency at the Banff Centre in Alberta Canada and received the Inaugural 2017 Create NSW Visual Arts Midcareer/Established Fellowship.

Tawale recently undertook the Australia Council for the Arts six-month residency at Acme, London, focusing on colonial archives; Fijian Objects, imagery and written records. Tawale is currently Associate Lecturer of Screen Arts at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

You can find Salote on Instagram here

Sione Tuívailala Monū, born in 1993 in Auckland, New Zealand, is an interdisciplinary artist of Tongan descent. They divide their time between Canberra, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand, working across various mediums including photography, moving-image, fashion and adornment, performance, and drawing. Their work delves into themes of identity, family, and the Pasifika queer experience in the diaspora.

A significant aspect of Monū’s practice involves the Tongan fine art of flower design, known asnimamea’a tuikakala. Traditionally, this art form utilises fresh tropical flowers, but due to theirscarcity in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Monū adapts by using vibrant plastic flowers sourced from local shops. This approach not only honours cultural traditions but also reflects the adaptability inherent in diasporic life. Monū’s work has been showcased in numerous exhibitions across New Zealand and Australia.

Notable solo exhibitions include Stories, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2023; QueerEncounters, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Warrane Sydney, 2023; Kindred: A Leitī Chronicle (w/ Manu Vaeatangitau), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2022;’Ao Kakala Ōtautahi, SCAPE Public Art Season 2021, Ōtautahi Christchurch, 2021, and Leitī, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2021. In recognition of their contributions to the arts, Monū received the 2024 Emerging Pacific Artist Award from Creative New Zealand.

You can find Sione on Instagram here