Tatau are the tattooed lines and motifs worn by Samoan men and women. The process of tattooing is known as pa‘u le malofie, or tu‘itu‘i malofie in its polite form; the tatau specialist is known as tufuga ta tatau. Samoan tatau is distinctive for the location of the markings on the body, their extent and density, and the tools used in the tattooing process. It is usually described as having two main forms. Men wear the tatau or pe‘a, a densely rendered set of markings that begins on the lower back, extends around the waist, completely covers the lower body down to the knee and is finished off at the navel. Women wear malu, a set of markings less dense than the pe‘a, starting at the upper thigh and extending down the legs and finishing behind the knee. Another distinctive feature of tatau is how the markings are rendered. Despite the availability of electric tattooing machines, many Samoan tufuga prefer to do their work with a set of handmade tools called au or auta.
The tatau is popularly described as a rite of passage for young men. In Samoa, after being tattooed the young man is not only accepted as a full member of the ‘aumaga (the village association of young men). Similarly, women who receive the malu are also admitted to participate in Samoan ceremonial and cultural life in a more active way. The tatau is associated with ideas connected with the wrapping, sealing and defence of the body, as well as with ornamenting it and making it beautiful.
This exhibition presents the work of four photographers who capture the dynamic practice of contemporary Samoan tatau over the last 40 years: New Zealand photographer Mark Adams has followed Samoan tattooing families since the late 1970s, documenting the many and varied contexts for their work; Samoan Greg Semu began making his striking self-portraits in the 1990s, documenting his 25 year identity journey as a tattooed man; John Agcaoili, was commissioned by the Japanese American National Museum to photograph the contemporary work of the present generation of Samoan tattooists for the exhibition TATAU: Marks of Polynesia (2016); and Angela Tiatia, an artist whose moving image work on the female malu innovatively explores the relationship between the female body as a fetishized object and her identity as a Samoan woman.
The exhibition is based on the scholarship developed for the Te Papa Press book TATAU: a history of Samoan tattooing (2019).
Thanks to the One Foundation for making this exhibition possible.
Exhibition runs from October 12th - February 1st.
Open daily, closed Sunday. Free entry.
