Anakiu Opeti-Finau (Year 13)
Title of work: The Culture We Carry
This artwork captures my little sister embracing and celebrating our Tongan culture from a young age. The photo shows her performing a tauʻolunga, a traditional Tongan dance that is an important part of our culture and celebrations.
I wanted to show how important it is to teach our culture to the next generation, so our traditions, identity, and stories can continue to live on. Seeing my little sister proudly take part in our culture reminds me that it starts with us as children.
Her traditional clothing, adornments, and performance represent the beauty and strength of our Tongan heritage. Through this artwork, I wanted to celebrate who we are and the responsibility we have to pass our culture on. My little sister represents the next generation, embracing and carrying our Tongan culture forward with pride.
Georgia Harman (Year 12)
Title of work: Fa'asinomaga
From a young age, I've always known who I am and where my ancestors hail from. However, the heritage I connect with most is from my mother's side – my Samoan heritage. People have tried to tell me I look too Palagi to be Polynesian and that I'm a plastic Samoan. This is far from the truth.
Growing up, I’ve always known where I belong and have been proud to call myself Samoan. Whether it's hearing the booming laughter of my aunties as they reminisce about childhood stories from Samoa, eating my favourite food, fa'alifu fa'i, at our Sunday toana'i, or performing the sasa and siva within my Samoan group at school, I feel at home. I feel Faʻasinomaga.
I wanted to show this in my photograph, wearing a traditional puletasi and sei, while holding a photo of my Grandma, Great-Grandma, Great-great-grandma, and aunty in their fāle.
Moana T’oa (Year 12)
Title of work: Mother Martyr
My mother, Rose, stands at the centre of this domestic scene, surrounded by the constant demands of my four siblings and me – the unseen viewer. The work reflects the quiet sacrifices she makes every day: balancing full-time work while caring for five children, often placing the needs of others before her own.
Positioned at the apex of a triangular composition, Rose becomes both the literal and emotional centre of our world. She anchors the family and the viewer’s gaze, embodying strength, responsibility, and authority. At the same time, her central position reveals the weight of this role, suggesting the exhaustion and vulnerability that accompany her selflessness.
This painting is both a tribute to her resilience and a reflection on the often-invisible labour and martyrdom of motherhood.
Fai’ana Taulangovaka (Year 13)
Title of work: Kua kite au i toku turanga, e Avaiki toku
“Kua kite au i toku turanga, e Avaiki toku”, meaning “I know who I am, I have a homeland”, represents my connection to my Cook Islands culture and where I come from. As one of the Cook Islands leaders here at Epsom Girls Grammar, I feel proud to represent my culture and help keep our traditions and identity strong.
The dancer is wearing a traditional Cook Islands-inspired costume, showing the beauty, strength, and pride within my culture. I was inspired by my love for Cook Islands dance and how it allows me to express who I am. The bright colours, feathers, and costume represent traditions passed down through my family and community.
This artwork reminds me that wherever I go, I will always be connected to my homeland, my culture, and my people. It represents knowing who I am and being proud of where I belong. My Kuki Airani culture will always win in my heart.
Isabella Yee (Year 13)
Title of work: Washed Up by the Puhoi River
Materials: Clay, lace
These works are fired clay in various glazes. They make up an installation that is built around and inspired by aquatic nature, from the barren rock pools of our east coast to the whitewashed shells and crustaceans on the beach.
I explored the texture, abstraction, and scale of forms that I observe from the beach and tidal areas. Shells and rocky inlets are traces of force and weather, reflecting the growing uncertainty of life and global warming, along with the human impact on our environment.
Amelia Ozaki-Dacre (Year 13)
Title of work: I Want a Perfect Face
Materials: Clay, acrylic paint, paper, and plastic
Society has distorted our perception of beauty, creating an expectation that everyone should look perfect – the same. A ‘Perfect Face’ as a supermarket product, packaged, priced, and labelled “BEST SELLER”, presents how beauty has become something we buy and consume rather than something that explores our uniqueness.
Instead of going to the supermarket to buy what we need as humans, we are surrounded by mindsets that prioritise looks before needs; hence the face as a steak. My work questions how society promotes a single ideal appearance, where we prioritise looking “perfect” to be accepted.
