John Pule
Encyclopedia
John Puhiatau Pule, born in Liku, Niue
in 1962, is a Niuean artist
, novelist and poet
. He has lived in Auckland
, New Zealand
since the age of 3. The Queensland Art Gallery
describes him as "one of the Pacific's most significant artists".
He also described his writing as a means of "decolonizing his mind". His work expresses his experience as a Niuean in New Zealand:
Pule's first novel, The Shark that Ate the Sun (Ko E Mago Ne Kai E La), was published in 1992. Burn My Head in Heaven (Tugi e ulu haaku he langi) followed in 2000, and Restless people (Tagata kapakiloi) in 2004.
His published poetry includes Sonnets to Van Gogh and Providence (1982), Flowers after the Sun (1984) and Bond of Time (1985).
In 2000 Pule was the University of Auckland
Literary Fellow and in 2002 took up a distinguished visiting writer’s residency in the department of English at the University of Hawaii
. In 2005 he was awarded an art residency at Roemerapotheke, Basel, Switzerland and in 2004 he was honoured with the prestigious Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand
.
, drawing
, printmaking
, film-making and performance
. The topics of his work include Niuean cosmology and Christianity
, as well as perspectives on migration
and colonialism
.
His work comprises both painting on canvass and bark cloth painting
, a traditional Polynesia
n artform.
He was a guest professor of creative writing
at the University of Hawai‘i in the spring of 2002.
In 2005, he co-wrote Hiapo: Past and present in Niuean barkcloth, a study of a traditional Niuean artform, with Australia
n writer and anthropologist Nicholas Thomas.
Since 1991 John Pule has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the USA, the Pacific and Asia. From 1996 to present he has held solo exhibitions in New Zealand and most recently in Melbourne at Karen Woodbury Gallery
, Australia. In 2005 he exhibited at the Galerie Romerapotheke in Zurich.
John Pule’s work has been represented in three Asia-Pacific Triennials at the Queensland Art Gallery
, Brisbane (2006, 2002, 1996), and his painting Tukulagi tukumuitea (Forever and ever) (2005) was illustrated on the front cover of the 2006 exhibition catalogue. Other selected group exhibitions include Amanakiaga, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2007); Turbulence, the 3rd Auckland Triennial, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki
(2007); Paradise Now!, Asia Society Museum, New York (2004); South Pacific Arts Festival, Belau (2004), New Caledonia (2000), and Samoa (1996); Iki and thanks for all the Ika, Contemporary Arts Centre
, Vilnius, Lithuania (2003); People Get Ready, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, (2000); Wake Naima, Creating Together, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa (1998); Kwangju Biennale, Korea (1995); Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa (1995); and Bottled Ocean, New Zealand touring exhibition (1994) in addition to being shown in over fifty group exhibitions.
Pule’s work is held in numerous public and private collections including the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Australia
, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria
, Melbourne; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
, Wellington; Chartwell Trust Collection, Auckland; Wellington High Court
, Wellington; and the National Museum of Scotland
, Scotland.
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
in 1962, is a Niuean artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, novelist and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He has lived in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
since the age of 3. The Queensland Art Gallery
Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
describes him as "one of the Pacific's most significant artists".
Literature
Describing the beginning of his literary career, Pule explained:- “I just wanted to write about growing up in New Zealand, and about being the youngest of 17 kids and about migration—but I wasn’t sure how to organize ideas, so I just started writing.”
He also described his writing as a means of "decolonizing his mind". His work expresses his experience as a Niuean in New Zealand:
- “My heart and my thoughts were always on Niue. But here I was living in AotearoaAotearoaAotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
on someone else’s land. Writing helped change me, painting helped change me. I went back to Niue as often as I could, and I’d weed and clear the graves for my family and friends’ families. It’s a way of saying I’m back. [...] We go back home [to Niue] with our NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
s and our jeans and we think we know things. But the local people just think we’re stupid. They know where all the trees are and the pathways and where the mythologies and the stories live.”
Pule's first novel, The Shark that Ate the Sun (Ko E Mago Ne Kai E La), was published in 1992. Burn My Head in Heaven (Tugi e ulu haaku he langi) followed in 2000, and Restless people (Tagata kapakiloi) in 2004.
His published poetry includes Sonnets to Van Gogh and Providence (1982), Flowers after the Sun (1984) and Bond of Time (1985).
In 2000 Pule was the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
Literary Fellow and in 2002 took up a distinguished visiting writer’s residency in the department of English at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
. In 2005 he was awarded an art residency at Roemerapotheke, Basel, Switzerland and in 2004 he was honoured with the prestigious Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
A facilitator of private philanthropy, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand supports artistic excellence through its permanent Endowment Fund. Legacies and donations help grow the Fund, with income generated enabling the Foundation to support the arts....
.
Artwork
Pule's artwork includes paintingPainting
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...
, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, 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...
, film-making and performance
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. The topics of his work include Niuean cosmology and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, as well as perspectives on migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
and colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
.
His work comprises both painting on canvass and bark cloth painting
Tapa cloth
Tapa cloth is a bark cloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii...
, a traditional Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n artform.
He was a guest professor of creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
at the University of Hawai‘i in the spring of 2002.
In 2005, he co-wrote Hiapo: Past and present in Niuean barkcloth, a study of a traditional Niuean artform, with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer and anthropologist Nicholas Thomas.
Since 1991 John Pule has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the USA, the Pacific and Asia. From 1996 to present he has held solo exhibitions in New Zealand and most recently in Melbourne at Karen Woodbury Gallery
Karen Woodbury Gallery
Karen Woodbury Gallery opened in 2004 at 4 Albert Street, Richmond, Victoria, Australia by Gallery Director Karen Woodbury. Karen Woodbury opened the gallery in response to 'an acute shortage of serious commercial gallery spaces in Melbourne' at the time. Since then, Karen Woodbury Gallery has...
, Australia. In 2005 he exhibited at the Galerie Romerapotheke in Zurich.
John Pule’s work has been represented in three Asia-Pacific Triennials at the Queensland Art Gallery
Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
, Brisbane (2006, 2002, 1996), and his painting Tukulagi tukumuitea (Forever and ever) (2005) was illustrated on the front cover of the 2006 exhibition catalogue. Other selected group exhibitions include Amanakiaga, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2007); Turbulence, the 3rd Auckland Triennial, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand...
(2007); Paradise Now!, Asia Society Museum, New York (2004); South Pacific Arts Festival, Belau (2004), New Caledonia (2000), and Samoa (1996); Iki and thanks for all the Ika, Contemporary Arts Centre
Contemporary Arts Centre
The Contemporary Arts Centre is located in Hanoi, Vietnam that showcases modern Vietnamese art.- External links :*...
, Vilnius, Lithuania (2003); People Get Ready, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, (2000); Wake Naima, Creating Together, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa (1998); Kwangju Biennale, Korea (1995); Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa (1995); and Bottled Ocean, New Zealand touring exhibition (1994) in addition to being shown in over fifty group exhibitions.
Pule’s work is held in numerous public and private collections including the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, Melbourne; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
, Wellington; Chartwell Trust Collection, Auckland; Wellington High Court
High Court of New Zealand
The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....
, Wellington; and the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
, Scotland.
Images
External links
- Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
- Artworks in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- John Pule in The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
- John Pule, The Age
- A list of books by and about John Pule, with references to reviews of his books, "New Zealand Literature File", Library of the University of AucklandUniversity of AucklandThe University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
- John Pule at the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre
- Example of Pule's painting at the Queensland Art GalleryQueensland Art GalleryThe Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
- http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/party.aspx?irn=5155Works by John Pule in the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaThe Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
] - About John Pule and his work, Christchurch Art Gallery
- John Pule on Artabase