“Phosphene” (2023) by Vasemaca Tavola

Phosphene (2023) is painting made for artist Vasemaca (Ema) Tavola’s third solo exhibition, Backbone presented at Vunilagi Vou in April-May 2023.

This body of work was informed by what is commonly known as Lapita Pottery, a ceramic tradition that maps human migration and settlement across the Oceania region from as early as 1500 BCE. In this painted study, the central form is a silhouette of an imagined, fully-formed ceramic vessel from the Lapita era. The snake represents Tavola’s totemic system from the island of Dravuni in Kadavu, Fiji. For Dravuni people, the dadakulaci (banded sea krate) is the carrier vessel of Ravuravu, their Vu (one single originating ancestor) and thus a protective guardian.

The title and palette of this work references Tavola’s visual experience of heightened states achieved through meditation and healing practices. The snake is also a reference to the concept of Kundalini energy being awakened through the remembering of indigenous...