Teuane Tibbo

Teuane Tibbo was a self-taught artist born in Upolu Sāmoa. Along with Cook Islands artist Paul Tangata, the first Pacific artist to exhibit work within a mainstream art gallery in Aotearoa, Tibbo is one of the foundational figures in the development of contemporary Pacific art in Aotearoa. She was the first Sāmoan artist to exhibit her work within a mainstream art gallery in Aotearoa. Tibbo began painting at the age of 69. However, an introduction to Pat Hanly who convinced Barry Lett to exhibit and represent her work resulted in Tibbo holding her first solo exhibition at Uptown Gallery in 1964 at 70 years of age. Tibbo’s paintings recalled memories of her time living in different Pacific Islands including Sāmoa before she migrated to New Zealand in 1945. She is briefly documented within New Zealand’s art history, propelled by the novelty of her late start to painting that saw her labelled as the ‘Grandma Moses of the Pacific.’ [see Bronwyn Fletcher] She had a modest impact on artists Michael Illingworth and Pat Hanly who observed her paint and had expressed their own desire “…to abandon preconceived rules and conventions to create a situation where they could harness the essence of pure creativity.” Tony Fomison was also impacted by Tibbo and often visited her.