Raymond Eddie Sagapolutele (born 1971) is a

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 ...

photographer and visual artist of

Samoan Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

descent.

Career

Sagapolutele was born in the

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

suburb of

Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tāmaki River estuary to the east. The Auckland isthmus is the narrowest connect ...

in 1971, with ancestral ties to the villages of

Fatuvalu Fatuvalu is a village on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. It is situated on the central north coast of the island in the district of Gagaʻifomauga Gagaifomauga is a political district on the island of Savaii in Samoa. The district is situated on ...

in Savai’i and Saluafata in

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

, Sāmoa. His early years were spent in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

and

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

, before the family returned to live in

Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...

in 1980. From 2003, he worked as a staff photographer for the publications ''Back to Basics'' and ''Rip It Up'', as well as writing for ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' and ''Metro'' magazine. Over the past decade, Sagapolutele has exhibited his work in group and solo exhibitions throughout Auckland, and been a member of the graffiti collective TMD. Sagapolutele is a founding member of the ManaRewa art collective based at

Nathan Homestead Nathan Homestead (Māori language, Māori: ''Pukepuke)'' is a historic site located in Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand. Developed from the remnants of the Nathan family farm, the Homestead and its surrounding park spans 3.7 hectares and features ...

. As a senior member, he tutors and supports the local arts community. Sagapolutele completed his Masters in Visual Arts with first-class honours and received the Deans Award for Excellence in Postgraduate study from

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

. He has been a lecturer at Auckland University of Technology since 2020. The camera is an important part of his practice as a Samoan-born New Zealander to reconnect his art to his Samoan heritage and the history of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. Sagapolutele's photography began when he took a photo of his brother's hip-hop group, the

Deceptikonz The Deceptikonz are a New Zealand hip hop group formed in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa in 1996 which consists of Savage, Devolo, Alphrisk and Mareko. Their debut album was ''Elimination'' released in 2002. History The group's debu ...

, which was published in '' Rip it Up'' magazine. This led to years of editorial photography work for Sagapolutele, including a project in 2012 where he photographed his mother and sister, both of whom were dancers. This led to a project, called Out Of Context, inviting the Pacific community to be photographed in their day-to-day lives. Sagapolutele uses skulls as a representation of ancestors from a Samoan perspective, and seeks to challenge western perceptions of skulls. He wants to educate people about how Samoans view the skeletal remains of love ones, as for Pacific people, they are respected and dealt with in different ways by various cultures. The use of skulls is an important part of Sagapolutele's practice. Raymond Sagapolutele on Art New Zealand

Sagapolutele explores blackness and nothingness in his photography, drawing on Pacific scholars like

Albert Wendt Albert Tuaopepe Wendt (born 27 October 1939) is a Samoan poet and writer who lives in New Zealand. He is one of the most influential writers in Oceania. His notable works include ''Sons for the Return Home'', published in 1973 (adapted into a ...

. His masters in photography from

in 2018 allowed him to expand his work within the complexities of

post-colonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and thei ...

identity. Sagapolutele creates works that connect to the Samoan tradition of Fāgogo, or storytelling.

Residencies

* 2025: Castle Hill Station Creative NZ Residency

Awards

* 2019: Dean's award for excellence in postgraduate study,

* 2019: Finalist, Glaister Ennor Graduate Art Awards * 2019: Honours,

Wallace Art Awards The Wallace Art Awards was an annual visual arts award ceremony in New Zealand, established in 1992 and running until 2021. Their goal was to "support, promote and expose contemporary New Zealand art and artists". History The awards were estab ...

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2024: ''Our Parents' Dreams'', Nathan Homestead, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024: ''Mo I Tatou (For Us)'', Fresh Gallery Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022: ''Aua e te fefe - Don't be afraid'',

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 ...

, Auckland, New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions

* 2025: ''Pride and Prejudice 2,'' Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands * 2024: ''Horizon 2'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024: ''Fa'aaliga, Beneath the Surface'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Horizon'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Pride and Prejudice... Part 1'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''South-Versed23'', Depot Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Tusiata o le Tala le Vavau: Artists of the Forever Stories'', Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2022: ''Fa'atasi'', Bergman Gallery,

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

* 2022: ''Te Atuitanga Beneath Our Cloak of Stars,'' Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2021: ''Ocean Memories'', Kunsthalle Faust,

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany * 2021: ''The Most Dedicated:An Aotearoa Graffiti Story'', The Dowse, Lower Hutt, New Zealand * 2018: ''Grey is the new pink'', Welkulturen Museum, Frankfurt, Germany * 2016: ''Ata Te Tangata'', Pingyao International Photography Festival, China

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagapolutele, Raymond 1971 births Living people Artists from Auckland New Zealand people of Samoan descent Auckland University of Technology alumni 21st-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand painters Samoan artists New Zealand photographers New Zealand photojournalists