Malu Lima study artistry...

Malu Lima study (2019) Helen Tau'au Filisi

This would be the first and only Malu Lima ink study that I have drawn since starting my art class a few weeks ago and as a result, I've decided to frame it for posterity as a very limited edition artwork.

What I've liked about the Indigenous art space that I'm currently in is that it's allowed me time to consider some of the important art icons/motifs that our ancestors rendered in their time and it's now continued for new artists to reconsider.

What many people don't understand is that the tapa motifs and the malu (traditional Samoan women's tattoo), as well as the pe'a, malofie, soga'imiti (traditional Samoan male tattoo) all, have motifs, symbols or icons that each have a story and meaning behind them.

I've had the privilege, in this space, of having the time to consider what these motifs may have meant to the early arts, what current Samoan artists have considered and now for me to render with new contemporary medium i.e. water colour paints, here in ink and later in some larger paintings as new interpretations of these ancient art forms.

It's definitely a privilege to be afforded this time and space to study, research through tofa sa'ili and to be able to share with an interested audience this journey. So that in the coming weeks, I'll be posting up many new works of art, some that I will be gifting, others that will be set apart for another day to ponder the wonder of our ancestral art iconology for future generations to continue...