Watch: Doron Semu at the ‘Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina wānanga
Watch Sāmoan siapo artist Doron Semu talk about his work as a siapo maker and artist.
“When I think about … the MVPFAFF+ and Rainbow Pasifika community, I see that we are the shapeshifters, and that we are the ones navigating our way through social systems, and through political situations, through all time.”
Doron Semu (Sāmoa – Falelatai, Salelesi, Asau, Falelima; New Zealand European) is a siapo maker of Sāmoan and palagi descent, hailing from the villages of Salelesi, Falelatai, Falelima and Asau. Based in Māngere, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Semu has learned his practice under the guidance of Tufuga, Fa'apito Lesatele of Vailoa, Palauli.
Semu's practice is centred on creating safe spaces, visibility, and opportunities for the MVPFAFF+ (Mahu, Vaka Sa Lewa Lewa, Palopa, Fa'afafaine, Akava'ine, Fakalaiti and Fakafafine) Rainbow Pasifika community, and expand the community of siapo makers in Aotearoa.
Watch Doron Semu talking about his Sāmoan siapo practice and what it means to him at the 2023 ‘Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina talanoa in Tahiti.
‘Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina
In 2021, Te Papa acquired a rare book containing tapacloth samples, cut from larger pieces collected during Captain Cook’s Pacific voyages in 1768, 1772, and 1776, and compiled by Alexander Shaw in 1787. The samples represent tapa-making practices from various islands including Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga.
In 2023, in Tahiti, ‘Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina gathered tapa makers of Tongan, Sāmoan, Niuean, Fijian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Pitcairn-Norfolk Island, and Māori descent for five days to learn about and re-establish their living relationships to the cloth held within Alexander Shaw’s book.
Through a process of wānanga this group of makers created two tapa bundles, incorporating the ideas of past, present, and future – one of the bundles is with Te Papa and the other with Te Fare Iamanaha-Musée de Tahiti et des Îles.
