Derek Derenalagi
More than 2,000 Fijians are currently serving in the British forces, trading their palm-fringed Pacific islands for the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. Why do they do it? For a passport out of poverty and to fight for the nation that once ruled them. Dan McDougall reports .
Eric Bridgeman Boi Boi the Labourer (from the series The Sport and Fair Play of Aussie Rules) 2008, inkjet print on photo rag Baryta paper. Collection of The University of Queensland, purchased 2010.
Featuring the work of Eric Bridgeman.
Saturday 30 January until 11 April 2010
The University of Queensland Art Museum
University Drive, St Lucia
Open daily 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Free parking on weekends
"Missing Pacific" catalogue now available.
An 8-page catalogue for Torika’s installation project, Missing Pacific is now available. For a free copy, please email: torika76(at)gmail.com.
Ema Tavola - BLOOD + BONE Opening Night, December 2009
Yaaay! Pics from Ema Tavola’s solo exhbition BLOOD + BONE are now online!
Check out Ema’s Flickr page and keep up-to-date with her work via her website – Colour Me Fiji.
Awesome Em! Congrats xx
Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images AsiaPac
Waterfront Place, Brisbane city Dec 16th, 2009
It gives me great pleasure to be able to launch the Pacific Storms exhibition in Brisbane. This exhibition is the first of its kind in Australia. It features leading Pacific Islander artists, both from Australia and the Pacific, and it has as its theme the changing climatic conditions which are affecting the islands in dramatic ways. Pacific art is always vibrant and full of colour, and this collection is no exception. The wonderful colour and feeling jumps off the canvass to grab the attention of the viewer, and also carries a powerful message.
BLOOD + BONE // EMA TAVOLA // SOLO EXHIBITION
(All the best Em! Wish we were there. Lots of love T, J, N and L xx)
Pacific Storms - Opens next week in Brisbane!
Beyond Pacific Art presents:
Pacific Storms – Brisbane
14 December 2009 – 1 January 2010
Open weekdays 6am – 6pm (excluding public holidays)
Waterfront Place Foyer, 1 Eagle St, Brisbane City (Riverside Ferry Stop)
Featuring artwork by leading Pacific Islander artists, Pacific Storms highlights the current issues of the Pacific region – climate change, globalisation, civil unrest, HIV/AIDS and many more – and reveals what lies beneath the sunshine, the leis and the stereotypical view of the Pacific Islands. Curated by Joycelin Leahy.
Leah Wickham, Greenpeace Volunteer
Day One of Copenhagen was punctuated by a number of passionate and emotional speeches, but the one which attracted yesterday’s headlines was by a young women from Fiji, Leah Wickham. Ms Wickham begged delegates to come to binding agreeements so that she and many young people like herself can look forward living in her island paradise.
After the first official press conference, young people from all over the world entered the auditorium holding up large scale building blocks which spelled out “10 million people expect a fair, ambitious and binding deal” to show leaders how important it is to get an effective climate deal.
Leah Wickham told Geraldine Coutts – from a train on her way to Poland and her next speech on climate change – that the attention has come as a bit of a shock.
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Leah Wickham, climate witness and representative of TckTckTck and Greenpeace
Fusilier Petero 'Pat' Suesue Photo: PA
A Fijian soldier described as a loyal warrior died after being shot by enemy forces while protecting a meeting of Afghan elders, an inquest heard.
Fusilier Petero ”Pat” Suesue, of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was killed near Sangin, in Afghanistan, on May 22 while on foot patrol at around 1.30pm.
He was among a group of around 90 soldiers who were patrolling the area to provide a secure perimeter for a meeting of elders and important Afghan nationals.
An inquest heard today that Fus Suesue, 28, was shot in the abdomen as the platoon was preparing to replenish their equipment.
A series of small round shots were heard before Fus Suesue fell to the ground.
He was dragged behind the wall of a compound where his fellow soldiers gave first aid while under fire from enemy forces.
“It might be the busiest time of year at CCAS but director David Broker managed to find a couple of days for The Big Island: Promoting Contemporary Pacific Art and Craft in Australia, a development workshop at the University of Wollongong. Two days of solid discussion concerning how he arts of Oceania might play a greater role in the overall scheme of Australia’s creative pursuits.”
