Tongan PhD student stamping her mark on traditional tapa cloth art

Meet the young Tongan artist dedicated to discovering historical origins surrounding Tongan Tapa cloth art - ngatu, zoning in on the specific patterned styles of kupesi.

Auckland-born but Tonga raised, ‘Uhila Moe Langi Nai grew up in the village of Pelehake where her beloved grandma - Nena - ignited her passion for traditional Tongan crafts such as ngatu.

Now a multi-disciplinary artist, Nai is in her third year at Auckland University of Technology studying towards her PhD in Visual Arts and her practice focuses on the Tongan koloa tu’ufonua ‘oku ‘iloa ko ia koengatu mo e kupesi - collection of women’s wealth known as tapa cloth and embroidered stencil.

Her works explore kupesi, which belongs to her village of Pelehake, that carry the history and stories of her ancestors. Nai is on a journey of rediscovery, tracing back the origin of these most valuable koloa (treasures) to her great-grandmothers.

Trailblazing her way through the arts, Nai is multi-award winning having received prestigious recognition such as the BC Collective Indigenous Award, and she received first place at MAGS Art Students Exhibition, the Pat Hanly Creativity Awards awarded by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and The Ara Lodge Fine Arts Award, just to name a few.

And she’s on a roll as last year Nai was awarded a $15,000 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard Award, and while completing residency in Taiwan she found out she was one of seven recipients of the Excellence in Fine Arts award at the To’utupu Tonga, Tongan Youth Excellence Awards.

The latter, she says, being one of her proudest moments.

Speaking on PMN Tonga, Nai says that through her practice she will continuously incorporate the gifts handed down by her ancestors and everything is an ode to her Nena.

“The fact that I had been recognised by our own people, because it’s not easy to have that recognition from your own, especially in a Western context.

“When I heard about it I thought, ‘I’ve made it, I’ve definitely made it!’

“It was a very proud moment, but I dedicate it to my grandma ‘coz she’s the one who shaped me to where I am with my practice.”

Watch the full interview with 'Uhila Moe Langi Nai on PMN Tonga below.