P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A 

A large-scale outdoor installation installed at Auckland city's Freyberg Square steps. Commissioned by the Auckland council and Heart of the City for the Art in the City festival 2022. 

This work was a large scale Tivaevae I designed in Rarotonga specifically for this commission to be on display in Auckland city during Spring time but it is really a story of Pacific women in Aotearoa, particularly Cook Islands women like myself.  Highly saturated colours, exploding florals transformsFreyberg Square welcoming in Summer. The traditional practice of Tivaevae (Cook Islands embroidery) in the Cook Islands is normally undertaken by women, the name of this work is P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A to honour the NZ-Based Pacific Island Womens Organisation. I chose this name because of the Ellen Melville Hall that opens out onto Freyberg square, inside this hall that honours pioneering women in New Zealand is a room dedicated to Cook Islander Paddy Walker, one of the founders of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. 

See more here: https://heartofthecity.co.nz/auckland-events/art-in-the-city/pacifica

Listen to more about the work on RNZ's Pacific Waves: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018861627/pouarii-tanner-explains-her-art-in-the-city-installation