Artwork Information

Mark Adams’s photograph of Grotto Road, Onehunga.

The evening of the Umusaga for Fuimaono Tuiasau.

Tufuga tatatau Su’a Suluape Paulo II is one of the first group portrait photographs made at Auckland of an Umusaga gathering after the sacred blessing given at the completion of a pe’a.

This image was not pre-planned by the artist but simply resulted from the fact that he had brought his photographic equipment along to the gathering and some of the people present suggested to the artist that he record it.

Fuimaono Tuiasau was a law student at the University of Auckland and lived opposite Tony Fomison in Gunson Street, Ponsonby, Auckland. The men became close friends and between 1979 and 1980 they were both tattooed by Sulu’ape Paulo. Tony Fomison, although the tatau buddy of Fuimaono Tuiasau was a reluctant participant in the group portrait as he was still somewhat shy of showing his pe’a.