ARTIST STATEMENT
Agai I lūma is a video depiction of my little cousin Iva growing up in Australia, and its connection with my experience growing up in Samoa. The series of clips showcases her privileges of living in Australian modern society, whilst the overlay pictures represent the Samoan way of life. It shares how living in such a diverse and evolved environment easily neglects the continuation of culture, especially for younger generations. Every shot shares contrast to how different our relationship with Samoan culture is, and how our physical surroundings are crucial and responsible for how we perceive life. The audio played in the background is of my family singing a traditional Samoan song “Goodbye, My Feleni” translated to “goodbye, my friend” implying Samoa is the friend.
ARTWORK PROCESS
I experimented with photography and digital media to create a video which depicts the changing life of my Samoan cousin, living in Australia. I took video clips of my little cousin growing up and edited them using CapCut. I also included photographs of my own childhood to compare the differences between traditional Samoan and contemporary Australian Culture. The background audio is my family singing a traditional Samoan song. The first and last screenshot symbolises my traditional culture as a Samoan woman.
