Rachael Hall

This collection of fangufangu features reproductions of three held in Te Papa’s Pacific collection. Handcrafted from different timbers, the works are practice-based interpretations developed to explore aspects of tufunga ngaohi fangufangu (the material art of fangufangu making), tufunga teuteu fangufangu (the art of fangufangu decoration) and faiva tā fangufangu (the performance art of fangufangu playing).

The work is named Hikuhikule’o to honour Hikule’o, the deity and origiantor of the fangufangu, and for its meaning echoes of sound, which references the awakening of these three nineteenth century instruments. Echoing the past through contemporary form, these works move beyond current limitations of the archive to invite closer engagement without termporal or spatial limitations, allowings knowledge to be accessed and generated through making, playing and listening.