New Body Of Work By Yuki Kihara At Gus Fisher And Gow Langsford Galleries

“After personally witnessing the devastating impacts of cyclones in Sāmoa, I was compelled to create works that not only allude to our resilience living in the Pacific Islands but also inspire conversations about global warming as a clarion call for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.” – Yuki Kihara

Tāmaki Makaurau’s Gus Fisher Gallery and Gow Langsford are proud to present a new body of work by renowned artist Yuki Kihara.

In her latest series Tala o le tau: Stories from the weather (2025), Kihara has worked collaboratively with the Moata’a Aualuma Community of Upolu Island, Sāmoa, in the creation of vibrantly coloured fala su’i (embroidered mats). Each mat, woven from pandanus fibre and bright woollen thread, renders the infrared satellite imagery of tropical cyclones which have impacted the Sāmoan archipelago over the past two decades.

These fala su’i designed by Kihara offer a unique take on the Sāmoan woven medium, traditionally presented in ceremonial contexts with more sparse and figurative iconography. Here, the embroidery extends beyond the border of the mats and into their fringed edges, introducing not only new subject matter to the Pacific medium, but also contemporary stylistic innovations. The ultra-bright, high contrast tones of satellite imagery signify the oftentimes extreme, fluctuating temperament of the climate. Through these works, Kihara and Moata’a Aualuma’s weavers incorporate this scientific imagery into a breathtakingly laboured and collectivised mode of expression that celebrates an indigenous practice passed down through generations.

At Gus Fisher Gallery, the exhibition’s title Tala o le tau is borrowed from the name of Kihara’s series, where five works are displayed alongside Angela Tiatia’s The Dark Current (2023) to address themes of climate crisis, matrilineal histories and indigenous knowledge systems. The presentation of the mats are accompanied by an audio of a weather report read in Sāmoan and English, detailing the effects of 2020 cyclone Wasi that swept through Sāmoa.

In that stone, in that cyclone, in that leaf at Gow Langsford features an additional range of Kihara’s fala su’i alongside the work of represented artists Shane Cotton, Brett Graham, Reuben Paterson, Patricia Piccinini, John Pule and John Walsh, with invited artists Star Gossage, Emily Karaka, and the late influential painter Colin McCahon (1919-1987). This exhibition brings together a group of artists whose practices explore and expand contemporary perspectives on place, identity and environmental concerns in Aotearoa and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.

Yuki Kihara is an interdisciplinary artist of Sāmoan descent working and living in Sāmoa. Her work seeks to challenge dominant and singular historical narratives by exploring the intersectionality between identity politics, decolonisation and ecology through performance, sculpture, photography, film and curation. In 2022, Kihara represented Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale. Her work is held in permanent collections, among others, including the Museum of Modern Art, Manahatta New York. Kihara is an affiliate of Ecological Art Practices – a research cluster led by THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at the Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice.

We would like to acknowledge the support of Toi Aotearoa Creative New Zealand – Pacific Arts Strategy towards Yuki Kihara and Moata’a Aualuma Community’s newly commissioned work.

Both exhibitions are free to visit. Kihara’s works across both presentations are available for purchase, please enquire to Gow Langsford for further details.

Yuki Kihara, Tala o le tau: Stories from the weather (2025)

Gus Fisher Gallery, Tala o le tau, 6 June – 30 August

Gow Langsford, Auckland City, In that stone, in that cylone, in that leaf, 1 July – 26 July

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