FRENCH CONNECTION
To this day French modernist painter Henri Matisse continues to be universally cherished among art lovers and artists alike. But when contemporary Sydney-based Samoan-Australian artist Angela Tiatia was invited to respond to works the French master created following his seminal trip to Tahiti, she was initially flummoxed.
Tiatia, herself a respected artist in Australia and abroad, is known for her exploration of power dynamics, gender and the exploitation of the female body, often examining historical images with a contemporary gaze. But unlike his compatriot Paul Gauguin, Matisse took a respectful approach to women and his representation of them on and off the canvas was considerate and playful.
“A lot of my art practice re-empowers representations of the Pacific female body, especially how she’d been sexualised
