Figure 19. Michel Tuffery, Tava’e ma le lua Solofanua at Brandenburg Gate Berlin (Tropicbird and Two Horses at Brandenburg Gate Berlin), 2011. H. 290 × L. 270 × W. 3 mm. Laser-cut comb in black acrylic worn by female dancers in the Apia, Porirua, and Sydney performances of Siamani Samoa. Based on Samoan selu pa’u/selu la’au, the intricate design echoes the fretwork on German-era colonial buildings; the three holes at the base reference German coconut plantations in Samoa. Depicting two horses from the Berlin Quadriga with a Samoan tropicbird (instead of the Prussian eagle), the comb recalls the presence of Samoa in Germany, alluding to Tupua Tamasese Lealofi II’s visit to Berlin in 1910. Photograph by Diana Looser; personal collection of the author, gift of the artist.

Figure 20. The Royal Samoa Police Band perform to a backdrop of Michel Tuffery’s photographic montages and video art combining German and Samoan imagery, in Siamani Samoa at Carriageworks, Sydney, 2015. Photograph by, and courtesy of, Susannah Wimberley.

Page 277 →Figure 29. Protect Our Aiga, Samoa (2020), pictorial image from Michel Tuffery’s Handle with Care series, an ongoing project begun in March 2020 in consultation with Pacific Health Plus, Porirua, that responds to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The campaign was designed to convey simple messaging directly to Māori and Pasifika communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The images, which were displayed as posters in different public spaces, adapt vintage postage stamps from Aotearoa New Zealand and other Pacific Islands. While encouraging community members to “stamp out” coronavirus by staying home, washing hands, and wearing masks, the posters emphasize ties to ancestry and culture as part of a holistic approach to healthcare and urge particular care for elders. This poster is based on a Western Samoan postage stamp, “Samoan Girl and Kava Bowl,” issued in 1935. Courtesy of Michel Tuffery, MNZM, and Jayne Tuffery, with special thanks to Lee Pearce.