Ake Lianga is a Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

 screen printer

Screen-printing

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...

 and painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, who has "gained recognition for paintings and murals throughout Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

".

After schooling, Lianga became self-employed as a sign painter and mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

 artist. In 1995, he won the South Pacific Contemporary Art Competition.

In 1996, he won the Commonwealth Arts and Crafts award for painting, and began studying at North Island College in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He graduated in Fine Arts in 1999. During his final semester, he was hired by the College to teach printmaking

Printmaking

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...

 to first year students. He married in 2001 and, as of 2007, lives in Canada.

His work was exhibited at the Comox Valley

Comox Valley

The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek and Merville. The communities of Denman...

 Art Gallery in 1998, at the Alcheringa Gallery

Alcheringa Gallery

Alcheringa Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that represents indigenous artists from Canada's Northwest Coast, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, and Torres Strait. It was one of the first galleries to make use of the internet in 1996.-See...

 in 2001, and at the Washington State University

Washington State University

Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

's Department of Fine Arts in 2007. Lianga's art has also been featured on the cover of the autumn 2004 edition of The Contemporary Pacific

The Contemporary Pacific

The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs is an academic journal covering a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the entire Pacific Islands region, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia...

. In 2010, Alcheringa Gallery set up "Pacific Connections, a cross-cultural collaboration featuring Ake Lianga [...] and John Marston, a Coast Salish

Coast Salish

Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...

 carver from the Chemainus First Nation".

Carol Ivory, chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Washington State University, has described Lianga's work as follows:

Lianga looks both backwards and forwards, bringing mythology, history and the contemporary world together in riveting works of art. [...] Lianga's artwork often engages with significant issues arising from post-colonial situations, creating works that can be described as both visually appealing and emotionally powerful.

Lianga was a guest speaker at the university in 2007.

External links

• Lianga's official website, with examples of his work
• Examples of Lianga's work exhibited at the Alcheringa Gallery
  Alcheringa Gallery
  Alcheringa Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that represents indigenous artists from Canada's Northwest Coast, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, and Torres Strait. It was one of the first galleries to make use of the internet in 1996.-See...