Sione Tuívailala Monū (born 1993

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) is an Australian and New Zealand interdisciplinary artist of Tongan descent notable for their use of

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...

s and flowers.

Biography

Monū grew up around

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, as their father's job was in the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

. Their mother is an avid collector of Tongan crafts, adornments and ngatu (bark cloth). As a child, Monū enjoyed experimenting with materials, "Flowers as a material and symbol have always been something I’ve responded to since I was a child." Monū was not taught how to make Tongan crafts in a traditional way, so they developed their own interpretations with materials they had at hand. Monū lives between

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand, and works across the different mediums of photography, moving-image, fashion and adornment, performance and drawing exploring identity, family and Pacific peoples' queer experience in the diaspora. Monū has shown their work in many art galleries throughout New Zealand and Australia, including

Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) is a contemporary visual and performance arts venue located in a heritage-listed building in Perth, Western Australia. History 1896–1959: Schools The building at 53 James Street, Northbridge, James ...

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

, Māngere Art Centre, and

Bergman Gallery Bergman Gallery is an international commercial art gallery with an original gallery in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and a second gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. Bergman Gallery represents and has represented many significant international artist ...

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2023 – ''The Way We Were'', Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand * 2023 – ''Stories,'' City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Matariki Fetu’u,'' Kaukau, Wellington, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Volver'', Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Kindred: A Leitī Chronicle'' (with Manu Vaeatangitau),

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2021 – ''’Ao Kakala Ōtautahi,'' SCAPE Public Art Season 2021, Christchurch, New Zealand * 2021 – ''Leitī,''

, Perth, Australia * 2020 – ''Kahoa Kakala'',

Objectspace Objectspace is a public art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It opened in 2004 and is dedicated to the fields of craft, applied arts and design. Organisation Objectspace's founding chair was jeweller Warwick Freeman. The gallery's founding dir ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2017 – ''Kahoa Kakala'', Fresh Gallery Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions

* 2023 – ''Tukufakaholo - Tongan Contemporary''.

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023 – ''Queer Encounters'', Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia * 2023 – ''Pride and Prejudice… Part1'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023 – ''Oasis/respite'', Studio One Toi Tū, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda'', Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022 – ''Twisting, turning, winding: takatāpui + queer objects'', Objectspace, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022 ''– Kindred: A Leitī Chronicle'', Māngere Art Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2020 ''–'' ''Te Wheke: Pathways Across Oceania 2020,''

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand * 2016 ''–'' Social Matter, Blue Oyster,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monu, Sione 1993 births Living people 21st-century Australian artists 21st-century New Zealand artists Artists from Auckland People from Canberra Tongan artists