Ani O'Neill

MMM - My Mu'umu'u Mamas

Artwork Detail

MMM - My Mu'umu'u Mamas was first displayed in an exhibition that O’Neill presented with Yuk King Tan at the Test Strip Gallery in Auckland.

O’Neill states in relation to this sculpture that her work tries to broaden the notion of what constitutes art. She states that her work involves the preservation and alternation of practices that are in danger of being forgotten.

The ways her work can refers to the ‘touristy’ clichéd attitudes to contemporary Polynesian craftwork, O’Neill believes, allows her to address the precarious and vulnerable aspects of rich craft traditions.

O’Neill plays with the notion of what signifies ‘the Pacific’ to her audiences. O’Neill actively works to subvert stereotypes about the nature of Pacific identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ani O’Neill first showed MMM - My Mu'umu'u Mamas against the three windows of Test Strip gallery. They then fulfilled the fabric’s original function as curtain material and further presented a moving tribute to the Pacific women of Auckland who walked along K Road on Sundays to the nearby Pacific Islands Congregational Church.

Title
MMM - My Mu'umu'u Mamas
Artist/creator
Ani O'Neill
Production date
1995
Medium
white polyester cotton curtain fabric, polyester thread, wire coathangers
Dimensions
3000 x 500 x 50 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2011
Accession no
2011/13.1-3
Copyright
Copying restrictions apply
Department
New Zealand Art
Display status
Not on display

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