Robin White & Ebonie Fifita
The perfect silence of the hour

In early 2020 Robin White and her artist collaborator Ebonie Fifita began working on the series of ngatu and masi in response to an invitation to participate in the major exhibition Matisse Alive currently showing at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Continuing their collaboration in 2022 Robin and Ebonie draw on their immediate environment of Onehunga Mall offering back an experience of place, people and culture in everyday, finely articulated terms and depicting intimate subjects drawn from domestic interiors and still life. This exhibition continues an investigation into interior spaces and the inclusion of timeless and personal motifs influenced by Matisse’s methodology of “using objects as actors.” This and other moments with people remind the viewer what is exciting about, and essential to, one’s engagement with the ngatu practice. The collaborative nature of the project is important both in the development of the conceptual framework and the execution of the work. Ebonie says of this “The ngatu practice is so precious in many ways, including how it embodies the spirit of giving and generosity to strengthen connection and community.”

See the video by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Making Vaiola.