To ensure the survival of their species, the dominant male of a school of Tu’u’u-lumane, or the pink skunk clownfish, will change their sex to female. For Yuki Kihara, this phenomenon of the fish’s kinship system debunks the assumptions of heteronormativity in Charles Darwin’s 19th-century theory of evolution. Like the Tu’u’u-lumane native to the Pacific’s coral reefs, Samoans have long perceived and interacted with the world beyond heterosexual binaries, with four culturally recognized genders: fafine (woman), tane (man), fa‘afafine (in the manner of a woman), and fa‘afatama (in the manner of a man), each with a specific familial and communal role. Yet colonial powers, including New Zealand, which controlled the islands from 1914 to 1962, in their effort to shape the culture according to Christian-European values, implemented legislation that criminalizes self-expression and homosexuality. These laws and views continue to impact Samoan society today.
Pasifika, Asian, and Fa‘afafine artist Yuki Kihara’s presentation for the New Zealand Pavilion in the Arsenale at the 59th Venice Biennale, titled “Paradise Camp” and curated by Natalie King, imagines a world that is alive, flourishing, and safe for Fa‘afafines, while directing the world’s attention to the concerns of contemporary Pacific Islanders and the contemporary LGBTQI+ community. Inspired by a 1992 unpublished essay by the academic and activist Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Kihara “upcycled” paintings by the French post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin during his travels to Tahiti and the
