Collection Details

Name/TitleKumete

About this objectTuifua Huakau was born and raised in Tonga and has lived in St Marys in Western Sydney for 43 years.

During the Sydney lockdowns from 2020–21, Tuifua refined his carpentry skills as a way of coping with the isolation and missing his local Tongan kava club, ‘Kalapu Fe’ofa’aki’. He had just recently discovered how to repair broken kava bowls, and moved on to making them from old pieces of wooden furniture found in his backyard.

Tuifua cuts up recycled wood and laminates them to form the base of the kumete. The rim is formed separately: wood is arranged into the favoured pattern and then laminated to the base to form the kumete. He refines the shape by carving and sanding the form down to the
desired shape and applies resin to waterproof the kumete.

This particular kumete continues Tuifua’s creative development
following his solo exhibition at Mundubbera Regional Art Gallery in Queensland, called ‘Tufunga Kumete’, and translates to carpenter of Kumete.

Through research and experimentation, what started off as repairing broken kava bowls, has turned in to an obsession to keep tradition alive in urban Sydney. Kumete won the Emerging Artist Award in the 2025 Blacktown City Art Prize.

MakerHuakau, Tuifua

Maker RoleArtist

Date Made2024

Medium and MaterialsRecycled wood and resin

Place MadeSydney

TechniqueCarved

Measurements27 h x 64 w x 27 d cm x wt 15 kg

Subject and Association KeywordsCultural object

Subject and Association DescriptionThe artwork was the Early Career prize winner in the 2025 Blacktown City Art Prize exhibition.

Named CollectionBlacktown City Art Collection

Credit Line© the artist
Acquired 2025 Blacktown City Art Prize exhibition
Blacktown City Art Collection
Photo: silversalt Photography

Object TypeCultural object

Object numberBCC HAU 001