Miss Amituanai
-
Edith Amituanai
b.1980
Samoan
Title
Miss Amituanai
Details
| Production Date | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Collection(s) | Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Acquired with assistance from the Govett-Brewster Foundation. |
| Accession Number | 2008/14 |
| Edition | Edition 2 of 3 |
| Media | c-type print - image wood - frame perspex - front cover |
| Measurements | 700 x 670mm unframed 980 x 1038 x 40mm framed |
About
Edith Amituanai’s parents came to Aotearoa New Zealand from Samoa in the 1960sand she was born and raised in Te Atatu, West Auckland. Her aiga (family) are from Pata, Falelatai, Ulutogia, Lalomanu Aleiapata in Samoa.
“For us, by us” is the motivation behind Amituanai’s work with her primary audience being her friends and family. Edith is described as a “village photographer” because she photographs in the local neighbourhood of Ranui, West Auckland, where she lives and raised her family, and her works instantly connect with her Pasifika community.
This work belongs to Amituanai’s larger body of work, titled Miss Amituanai. Developed at the time of Amituanai’s wedding, these works reflect the artist’s experience of leaving her family home and arriving at a new one. The series considers the change in family roles in taking on the title of Mrs Amituanai, the honour previously belonging only to her late mother-in-law who had passed away 14 years earlier. Miss Amituanai captures the intense emotion of an important family moment when Edith’s young sister-in-law, 17-year-old Ioka, is ready to attend her first White Sunday service without either of her parents, her father having passed away only a few months before this photograph was taken. Our eyes are drawn to the heart-shaped photograph on the mantelpiece behind Ioka, which features Edith on her wedding day.
— Theresa Tongi, 2022
