Oceanic Refractions is an immersive installation featuring testimonies of Fijian, i-Kiribati, and Papua New Guinean elders on kinship, self-determination, and care in the face of global ecocide. Along with reflections from these teachers, artists, fisherpeople, grandparents, and chiefs, are field recordings of the reefs of Fiji, the oceans and mangroves of Kiribati, and the shorelines of Papua New Guinea’s Duke of York Islands. Through hyper-detailed soundscape compositions, combined with immersive videography, custom seating, and olfactory effects, Oceanic Refractions creates an unforgettable sensorial experience. Moved by listening and silence, the work offers audiences rare insights into the environmental relations sustaining Oceania’s many worlds.
Participants
AM KANNGIESER, MERE NAILATIKAU, LAISIASA DAVE LAVAKI, TUMELI TUQOTA, JOSEPH KAMARU, AND ELISE MISAO HUNCHUCK LONDON, UK; MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA; SUVA, LAMI, AND PACIFIC HARBOUR, FIJI; BERLIN, GERMANY; NAIROBI, KENYA; MILAN, ITALY
AM Kanngieser, Gladstone, Australia, 1980. Lives and works in London, UK, and Melbourne, Australia.
Mere Nailatikau, Suva, Fiji, 1985. Lives and works in Suva, Fiji.
Laisiasa Dave Lavaki, Suva, Fiji 1983. Lives and works in Lami, Fiji.
Tumeli Tuqota, Suva, Fiji, 1983. Lives and works in Pacific Harbour, Fiji.
Joseph Kamaru, Nairobi, Kenya, 1997. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany, and Nairobi, Kenya.
Elise Misao Hunchuck, Toronto, Canada, 1982. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany, and Milan, Italy.
Team
Testimonies: Lydia Jacob (Duke of York Island, Papua New Guinea), Unaisi Nabobo-Baba (Fiji), Simione Sevudredre (Fiji), Philip Tacom (Duke of York Island, Papua New Guinea), Teweiariki Teaero (Kiribati); Visuals: Laisiasa Dave Lavaki, Tumeli Tuqota, Mere Nailatikau; Sound: KMRU, AM Kanngieser; Scent: Nathan Taare; Conceptual Director and Editor: Elise Misao Hunchuck; Installation design: Studio Folder (Marco Ferrari, Elisa Pasqual, Christina Garbi, Alessandro Quarta); Curtain design: OLDER Studio; Production and Fabrication: Bang & Olufsen, FGM Works
Thanks
Advisory Board: Joey Tau (Papua New Guinea/Fiji), Sana Balai (Autonomous Region of Bougainville/ Australia), Alofipo So’o Fleur Ramsay (Samoa/ Australia), and Simione Sevudredre (Fiji)
Supporters
Australian Cultural Fund, Creative Australia, Pacific Feminist Fund, Royal Holloway, University of London, European Commission, CTM Festival, transmediale festival for digital art and culture, and a group of benefactors who wish to remain anonymous
