Latai Taumoepeau (born 1972) is an Australian contemporary artist. She is best known for her performance art, which explores the politics of race, colour and power in Australia. She has shown her works in leading Sydney galleries and venues including the

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street, Sydney, George Street in The Rocks, Sydney, The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Cl ...

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Carriage Workshops in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being use ...

Performance Space Performance Space, later Performance Space at Carriageworks, is an arts organisation based in Sydney, Australia, that develops and presents interdisciplinary arts and experimental theatre. History Performance Space was established in 1983 in a ...

, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

Campbelltown Arts Centre Campbelltown Arts Centre (CAC) is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre located in Campbelltown, New South Wales, south west of Sydney, Australia. History and description Campbelltown Arts Centre opened in 2005, located on the traditional ...

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC), commonly referred to as Casula Powerhouse, is a multi-disciplinary arts centre in Casula, New South Wales, Casula, a south-western outer suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Before being renovated a ...

, and the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

Early life and education

Latai Taumoepeau was born in the Eora Nation, Sydney, Australia, where she currently lives and works. Taumoepeau is described as a ''punake,'' which is a Tongan term that refers to "performance artists, such as dancers, who use the body as their medium". The term ''punake'' is used to describe "artists who compose poetry and songs and choreograph them for performance. The word comes from ''puna'' (to fly) and ''hake'' (on high)."

Career

Taumoepeau draws inspiration for her artwork from her Tongan heritage and seeks to address issues surrounding race, class and the female body politic. Taumoepeau presented at a symposium at Melbourne's Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival which "celebrate the creative practices among the Pacific diaspora in Australia". Her artwork ''Dark Continent'', 2018, was presented as a part of the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9) at

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galle ...

, Gallery of Modern Art, in Brisbane. ''Dark Continent'' was also performed for the program duration of the 48HR Incident, a performance art and live action event which occurred over 48 hours from 29 to 31 May 2016. In 2018, her performance piece ''Repatriate'' was also exhibited alongside Museum of Water as a part of the 2018

Perth Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

at the

Fremantle Arts Centre The Fremantle Arts Centre is a historic building complex on Ord Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The heritage-listed building complex was built using convict labour between 1861 and 1868 and was used as a psychiatric hospital, initiall ...

. ''Repatriate'' sought to draw attention to the impact of rising sea levels on Pacific Island nations, including her motherland of the Kingdom of Tonga. Taumoepeau was part of the

Sydney Biennale The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice Biennale, Venice and São Pa ...

in 2020, presenting her work The Last Resort, a major installation on Cockatoo Island. In 2020 & 2021, Taumoepeau designed the programme for REFUGE at

Arts House Arts House is a centre for contemporary performance and interactive artforms in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2006, it is a program of the City of Melbourne. It supports and presents a range of experimental theatre, live art Perfo ...

, a programme of talks, live artworks and installations that prepares communities for the coming climate emergency, connecting contemporary politics, environmental scientists and indigenous knowledge holders to enable interconnected conversations for the survival of all beings.

Work

Awards and nominations

*2015: Best Artist, FBi Sydney Music, Arts & Culture (SMAC) Awards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taumoepeau, Latai 1972 births Living people Australian people of Tongan descent 21st-century Australian women artists 21st-century Australian artists