Artwork information

Gathering Coconuts 1965 is a striking demonstration of Teuane Tibbo’s focus on scenes of Pacific life, often drawn

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from photographs and memories of her upbringing in Sāmoa and later years in Fiji after 1926.

Tibbo offers a quaint scene of village life which is centred around the fale. As the title suggests, villagers scale coconut trees, while pairs of women in patterned garments with flowers in their hair carry bananas and other goods to the fale. Here, Tibbo’s striated technique is reserved for depicting the coconut trees aligned at the top of the painting and shown in mirror image on either side of the fale. Sprouting from the pathway are two hibiscus flower beds, delicate and almost transplanted into the scene – contributing to the dreamlike, remembered quality of the work.