Women of the Woods
Author:
Nikki Mariner
Highlights:
SISTERS OF THE SUN,
DAUGHTERS OF THE WATERS,
WOMEN OF THE WOODS
This print is from a series of three large paintings by Nikki Mariner, titled, ‘No Woman is an Island’.
SISTERS OF THE SUN,DAUGHTERS OF THE WATERS,WOMEN OF THE WOODSRepresenting Samoa at the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in Hawaii in 2024, the theme of the exhibition was Regenerating Oceania.
From the artist: “I asked myself what are the defining elements of a tropical island?
And I came up with three:
•surrounded by ocean,
•lush green jungles and forests
• heat from the sun.
So I painted groups of women in these three themes – forest, ocean, sun.
Painting groups rather than an individual figure symbolizes the collectivism of Pacific cultures and acknowledges the tight social bonds as a superpower towards Regenerating Oceania.
Each piece uses colour, shapes, pattern, and texture to express the feeling of each element of a tropical island – life in Oceania.