VIVIEAERE, Jim, 1947-2011
Beacons (Sculpture)
The iconic upturned boat form of the Fale
Pasifika is a landmark on campus. Designed by
Ivan Mercep of Jasmax Architects at a cost of
$6 million in 2004, the Fale has won several
architectural awards. Collaboration with
architectural theorist Albert Refiti ensured that
Pasifika artists were involved in its construction
adding layers of cultural meaning.
Traditional Tongan lashings in brown and
black coconut coir from Fiji by Filipe Tohi conceal
steel plates and bolts at the main intersections
of the roof structure on the interior. Outside the
building, the work of Tongan artist, Tumoi Kaloni,
forms a high archway entrance to the malae or
greeting area, which is paved with a grid of tiles
with applied arrows by Tania Euruatua Short to
form a work entitled Accidental and Deliberate
Voyages in the South Pacific. Described as a
cartographically inspired pattern, this treatment
of the malae’s surface was intended to evoke
the presence of the ocean connecting Pacific
peoples.