“Siapo is Samoan design construction, using natural elements to create a sense of identity rooted in time and place”
— Lianna Leiataua
This project was created to celebrate the re-purposing of Linden hall to a community center.
Lianna Leitaua and I wanted to create a youth-centered project, where students were introduced to the Samoan philosophy, as expressed in the rhythmic community-based design methodology of Siapo. We worked with local students from Tawa Intermediate. This group were an extraordinary example of Art Academy students led by their art teacher Linda Lewry.
Firstly, we supported the students to develop designs in the classroom, and then helped them translate the work on to the wall.
The main entranceway was designed and created by Lianna Leiataua, and gifted to the project. The design celebrates the Tawa tree and its much prized purple fruit that grew abundantly in the area prior to settlement. This reference was strengthened by Lianna’s discovery of the whakataukī Ko te ahi tawa hai whakarite which compares the sound of Tawa berries popping on the fire to the joyful sound of children.
The mantel design is inspired by the Māori Tukutuku panel called “The Stairway to Heaven”. The middle section of the mantel is “Manono” and is the highest point in the design. Manono is the ancestral island of Lianna’s Whakapapa located between the two main islands of Samoa Upolo and Savaii. The island takes just thirty minutes to walk around, and on the top of the island is a monolithic Star Mound called “Tuli Manu Iva”.
We worked with the building’s architecture and its many decorative shapes to build the design that complements the structure. We liked how the design gave a pacific vibe to the building, reflecting the diversity of the suburb and strengthening the vision the community gave to us at the beginning of the project.
During the project’s main painting day we spotted four eels (tuna) swimming in the sun-bathed creek. Tuna that might have swum from the pacific and will one day return there. The relationship with New Zealand and the pacific seemed at the moment to be celebrated by the natural world as well as within the artwork. In another auspicious moment, we were also visited by kererū who eat the Tawa berries. On completion of the project, we turned around, and to our surprise, we saw a double rainbow.
We felt blessed to work on the project and are grateful for the amazing help from the Wellington council team, particularly Denise and Fieza who hosted us all.
The students were inspired by the abundant plant and birdlife of Linden, and created personal designs that spoke to their family history, faiths and their playful sense of humor. They fed off each other’s creativity and worked sensitively to create a sophisticated unified finished mural.