without centre, without limits

Artists: Lafin Sawmah, Eleng Luluan, Akac Orat, Malay Makakazuwan.

Indigenous connections between Taiwan and Aotearoa are explored in without centre, without limits, a new exhibition at New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre which presents new work by four indigenous artists from south and eastern Taiwan, continuing long-running conversations between the Gallery and artists from the edge of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean).

without centre, without limits presents new works by Lafin Sawmah, Eleng Luluan, Akac Orat and Malay Makakazuwan, created after the artists’ two-week residency in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023, which in turn built on initial discussions in 2022 with the aim of enacting connections between Taiwan and Aotearoa—a space of shared migration and enduring whakapapa (genealogical) ties.

Insights into the contemporary life and critical concerns of the artists are offered through new site-specific installations created for the Govett-Brewster: each artist in their own distinct way draws on and transforms materials found within their tribal community to re-invigorate their indigenous material cultures, narratives, and knowledges.

Co-curated by Dr Zara Stanhope and Taarati Taiaroa, the resulting exhibition presents works grounded in the shared beliefs of collective responsibility, community spirit, an inseparable connection to land and sea, and the unbreakable bond between past, present, and future – all ideas from the edge of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa which have a resonance in Aotearoa. The possibilities of this space, these relations, are conceived as being without a centre and without limits.

“The conversations started by bringing the artists to Aotearoa is extended by this exhibition. The resulting contemporary reflections offered by the artists’ works enables connections, understanding and opportunities for increased dialogue going forward, a critical step towards future exchanges between Indigenous artists from Aotearoa and Taiwan and the regeneration of historical interactions and cultural knowledges,” say co-curators Dr Zara Stanhope and Taarati Taiaroa.

The Govett-Brewster greatly acknowledges the sponsorship of Ministry of Culture Republic of China (Taiwan), and support of Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (Sydney), and Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītu Tūhono. Further support from Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts and the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Fund in Taiwan enabled the works to be brought to Aotearoa, and Creative New Zealand enabled the 2023 artist’s residency.

About the artists
Lafin Sawmah: Lafin Sawmah (1983–2023) belonged to the Pangcha (Amis) tribe, located on the east coast of Taiwan in Taitung County. Lafin returned to his hometown Changbin at age 26, where he rediscovered his tribal culture and passion for art and began specialising in woodworking, establishing his studio in 2011 with his wife Heidi Yip. He became known for his carved sculptures and land art installation. 

In recent years, Lafin’s practice expanded as he sought to reconnect with the legacy of his ocean-voyaging ancestors. He made a wa’a sculpture which later turned into a sea-going vessel, supported by local friends and family and Hawaiian Hi’ikua sailor Kimokeo Kapahulehua. His wa’a entitled Fawah was launched in 2022 with ritual, an occasion that re-awakened ocean ceremony and knowledge amongst his community.

Eleng Luluan: Born in 1968 in the Kucapungane (Haocha) community, Pingtung County in southern Taiwan, Eleng moved to the Dulan community in Taitung, Eastern Taiwan in 2002, where she was exposed to contemporary Indigenous art. Adhering to the concept of getting close to nature, her deeply intuitive making process results in works that evoke the senses, encouraging embodied experience and ways of knowing.

Eleng is renowned for her mixed-media sculpture and environmental installations that utilise natural and everyday materials. She constructs with and transforms materials whose tensile and conceptual strength challenge established gender identities and discourses of settler-colonial, diasporic, migrant, other transnational and transcultural histories. Her works address the monumental issues faced by Indigenous Taiwanese peoples—including enduring colonial wounds and effects of land disasters. In doing so, she invites us to bear witness and care about what we feel and see.

Akac Orat: Born in 1984 in Taitung, Taiwan, Akac grew up in the Puyuma tribe. At the age of 30, he lived in his mother’s Amis tribe where he engaged in traditional craftmanship, art education and curatorial practice. As a curator, he utilised the exhibition format as a discursive platform and a means to support the regeneration of indigenous knowledge and practices. As a teacher, he promoted an interdisciplinary understanding of art.

In recent years he has entered different domains of practice and engaged in field work. He built a traditional Amis thatched house—a centre for learning in which he passes on his skills to others—that has enabled him to reimagine an indigenous life for himself. His artistic production is focused on the maintenance of traditional values and cultural knowledge found within the practice of harvesting and transforming natural materials and caring for the land they grow on. He is a rattan weaver and responds to contemporary issues through this craft.

Malay Makakazuwan: Born in 1980, Malay lives and works in Hualien, Taiwan. Her parents were the first generation from her indigenous family to live in an urban area and were often away from the tribal community for work. As a result, Malay and her younger brother were raised by their mumu (grandparents) in the Pinaski tribal community in Taitung. Memories of her family and hometown have become a source of solace and inspiration in her creative endeavours.

Malay’s works primarily consist of mixed media, with expressions often incorporating weaving techniques using found objects and natural materials. She draws inspiration from tribal stories and current events, exploring tribal culture and creation to give voice to the modern marginalisation of indigenous communities in Taiwan.

About the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery opened in Ngāmotu New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand, in 1970, following a bequest by local woman Monica Romaine Brewster (nee Govett). From the outset the Gallery’s focus was on contemporary art from Aotearoa and around the Pacific.

In 2015 the Gallery opened the Len Lye Centre, an adjoining space focused on presenting the work of modernist filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye (1901–80), regarded as New Zealand’s most influential international artist.

Owned and core funded by New Plymouth District Council the Gallery presents a dynamic range of programmes intended to spark contemporary conversations.