Voyaging thesis is Loretta’s adventure
Musical will ‘lift’ the Cook Islands

Loretta Reynolds left school at age 16 to enter the world of graphic design. She worked for a succession of major advertising companies based in Auckland, Sydney and London before establishing her own graphics company in Parnell. Now, years later, she’s a successful local artist and one of five students pursuing a Master’s degree in Art and Design through AUT University at USP.

Reynolds and her husband Chris moved to Rarotonga from Auckland in 2000. At that point, Reynolds was “semi-retired,” she said, and ready for a new life and new forms of inspiration.

Reynolds has strong Cook Islands roots, as her father was the late Arthur Estall of Nikao. Moving here, she said, strengthened her interest in her culture and particularly in its art.

When she first arrived in Rarotonga, she attended a series of Creative New Zealand workshops alongside some prominent Pacific artists, which heightened her enthusiasm for Rarotongan cultural art.

Since then, she has become a major player on the local art scene. She appreciates living her life as an artist without having to face the pressure that a big-city commercial artist might feel.

“But the only downside [of being an artist on Raro] is the lack of available materials,” she said. “In big cities, you go to the yellow pages and ring up a supplier. In a funny way, though, the lack of materials creates art. You’ve got to make do with what you have. You’ve got to make your own art.”

Reynolds has certainly been able to “make do” with what she has. Her pieces are inventive and she uses a wide range of mediums.

“I work with everything – I’ll even carve bones. I like to potter around,” she said with a laugh.

Though she is not new to the art scene, Reynolds values the opportunity to take her work to the next level through the Master’s course. The course forced her to approach her art from a different angle, and to immerse herself in her subjects through careful and meticulous research, she said.

“It was challenging,” she said. “At times I’d think, ‘This is not for me.’ But we’ve developed a kind of buddy system, the five of us [in the course]. When we get ourselves down, we call one another up and say ‘Don’t give up!’ We’ve got a little support system going.”

She and her colleagues refer to themselves as ‘The Pod’ and have bonded in response to the challenges posed by the Master’s course.

“I think the ‘Pod’ will live on,” she said. “We’re linked together now!”

Reynolds said the most challenging part of the course was the written component of the final project. She said that though 80 percent of the final exam is the work of art itself and 20 percent is the written exegesis, she felt like she’s spent 80 percent of her time writing.

“I’m really having to think about my art. It’s been an absolute adventure!” she said.

That summary of her experience relates to her thesis, which is based on the idea of voyage and migration, and how they relate to the Tangaroa icon.

Her exhibition tells the story of a voyage in three parts – it explores the departure point, the journey itself and the arrival point – and it incorporates Tangaroa as the guardian of that voyage.

Reynolds’ exhibition also traces the voyage of the Tangaroa image through time. It was, she said, a voyage that was influenced and directed by such events as the formation of the Cook Islands Tourist Authority and its debut as the background picture of a postage stamp.

Reynolds said she started working with the Tangaroa icon and its relation to island patterns but quickly realised that her subject was too broad. She narrowed the theme of her thesis and was able to focus her time and energy on representing Polynesian voyage and our perceptions of the god of voyage.

“Tangaroa has proven to be an essential, personal learning process, not just for the technical issues relating to my artwork, but in helping me reconnect with my culture,” she said.

Reynolds said that though her thesis has been an ongoing struggle, the hard work is starting to pay off. After the examiners assess her work on February 18 and 19, she’s looking forward to kicking back, but she’s excited to apply the personal and professional lessons she’s learned to her work. She said she feels as if the course has given her “a key to unlock a room full of inspiration and creativity”.

“It really has been a tiring time. Young people breeze through this stuff, but me...” she trailed off with a smile. “I’ll have a good rest but then I’m looking forward to going into that room.”

• Rachel Reeves

The musical production ‘Once, Upon a Reef’ will be shown at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau City at the end of next month.

Project manager Thomas Peyroux says progress on the production is “great” and rehearsals have picked up.

“They are now all go and I am happy with that.”

Peyroux says it has been hard without sponsors but it is not stopping progress on the production.

“It’s about the bigger picture and the impact it delivers. It’s not about just us any more, it’s about all of us proud Polynesians.”

Peyroux says accomplished composers/choreographers like Maki Karati, Tepoave Araitia, Puna Kaiaruna, Tua Huri and Jacob Samson, have come on board, and dancers and drummers are also helping out.

Peyroux says there are even people travelling over from Rarotonga and Australia to help out with the two shows on Saturday, February 27.

“They are paying their own way here – it shows a lot of character for me. What does that tell us? Every bloody Cook Islander is behind this project. “This musical is going to lift the name of the Cook Islands, enough said.”

With the lack of funding to pay for a high-class centre, Peyroux says the show tickets are high.

There will be two sessions on the day, with adult prices being $39.50 for the 2pm matinee and $49.50 for the 8pm show. Children under 15 will pay $20 to watch the matinee and $35 for the late show.

Once, upon a reef is taken from the legend of Piripirima – the inseparable twins. It tells the story about parents who neglect to feed their two children who decide to run away and end up killing themselves by jumping off a cliff. But as they fall they are caught and turned into twin stars now known as Piripirima.

A launch of the CD was held in Auckland last month.

Six of the songs were written by Peyroux and the other six by Karati.

The Atiu community has offered its Mangere hall for free for practices.

• Moana Moeka’a