John Pule: Hauaga (Arrivals)

View work by the renowned contemporary Pacific artist, writer and poet John Pule.

The Gallery is the final venue in a nationwide tour, arranged by City Gallery Wellington, which brings some of Pule's major works back to his hometown.

Niuean-born Pule grew up and lives in Auckland. The exhibition surveys his career from one of its key turning points, in 1991, when he travelled back to Niue and reconnected with its traditional art of hiapo (barkcloth painting). The exhibition is curated by Gregory O'Brien and Aaron Lister.

A highlight of the exhibition is the inclusion of some of Pule's strongest works on paper, which include both image and text. These show Pule's equivalent strengths as a poet and painter, asking to be read as well as viewed.

His work has been included in exhibitions in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Major collections are held at the Queensland Art Gallery and as far afield as the National Gallery of Scotland. In 2004, Pule was honoured with the prestigious Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

Since the mid-1980s, John Pule has explored performance, poetry, literature and painting, all drawing upon his Niuean culture but placed within a contemporary context. Today he is a prominent cultural figure within New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region, and plays a pivotal role in the presentation of contemporary Pacific culture.