Queens of the Pacific (1994)
‘Queens of the Pacific 1994’ (2023) by Yuki Kihara. Plastic doll, fabric and mixed media. 360mm (H) x 160mm (W). Part of ‘BERTHA’ (2023) exhibition by Yuki Kihara curated by Natalie King. Commissioned by the Powerhouse Museum Ultimo, Sydney. Courtesy of Yuki Kihara and Milford Galleries, Aotearoa New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Gui Taccetti.
“The Gingham dress is by one of my all-time favourite designers, James Leuii.
Shot in Wellington, where I worked in the head office for the Department of Social Welfare, this image connects with my long association with the NZ AIDS Foundation. I was employed as Pacific coordinator of posters raising HIV/AIDS awareness amongst Pasifika peoples and promoting safe-sex practices.
Two of the posters are included in the wider Paradise Camp exhibition (see Siapo Wall). At the time, no one was creating campaigns specifically targeting Pasifika peoples. The first poster depicts young PI people rising from the waters of the Pacific with the title, ‘Navigate Life Safely – like our Ancestors’.
The second poster focused on Fa’afafine with Siaosi Mulipola (RIP) as the Big Fa’afafine Goddess in the Sky, below were all the Auckland Fa’afafine I could muster for the photo call. And in the foreground, Fa’afafine mermaids, BustOp, Shanice and LacePanties, just to keep it fun. The young man Thomas Vaetoru, a young Cook Island gay man, sadly died by suicide.
The group AFA was established in 1996 as a community action group of PI, predominantly Samoan, to provide education and support within the community for HIV/AIDS awareness and education. The founding members included: Stephen Stehlin (Tagata Pasifika), Patrick Ah Kuoi (president), Lindah LePou (designer), Siaosi Mulipola (dancer/queen), Sefa Enari (dance educator), Sefa Fraser, Jerome Ooms and a host of others.
After Thomas’ death and the suicide of my own flatmate, Jared Pringle, I joined the NZ AIDS Foundation to complete the poster project.
Despite the focus on prevention, this period was marked by the deaths of many of my dearest friends due to HIV related illnesses: Arthur Tauhore, CoCo LeCoqSucqeur (Sean McDonagh), Pussy Galore (Witoria Drak), Shuvon (David Curry), Bambi Slut (Darren Taylor), Henry Kemp and many more.”
-BERTHA aka Harold Samu