01/06/2026
Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa - It's Sāmoa Language Week, and at Pātaka we would like to highlight the work of AXEL IVA, an artist featured in IHI, an exhibition curated by Israel Randell and Ioana Gordon-Smith.
AXEL hails from the villages of Apolima and Iva, and was raised in Mangere, Tāmaki Makaurau. This is VILT, Axel's fale umu, an outdoor cooking house commonly found in Sāmoa. When Axel's father moved to Aotearoa, New Zealand, he built his own fale umu in the driveway of his Māngere home—a way to bring a piece of Sāmoa with him.
'Like his father’s construction, VILT balances nostalgia and reinvention. Made from materials more commonly used for roofing or greenhouses, it differs greatly from the more robust fale umu found in Sāmoa or what Axel describes as the “janky eyesore” of its Māngere version. Its fragile, ethereal form evokes a delicate tether to a sense of “home,” felt through memory or imagination. Its title blends family surnames while also nodding to “Virtual Instructor-Led Training,” a form of learning that happens at a distance.'
The 2026 theme for Samoa Language Week is "‘E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le 'nu'u - From the high mountains are the blessings of the village."
Emerging from Mangere Mountain, this construction is truly a blessing for our village here in Porirua.
IHI
Axel Iva, Te Ara Minhinnick and Ming Ranginui
On until 19 July 2026
Three emerging artists explore ihi — a charged inner force — by moving familiar forms into unfamiliar roles.
Check out Axel's website: https://www.axeliva.com/
📷 AXEL IVA, VILT, 2025, twinwall polycarbonate and PVC tubing
Courtesy of the artist. Image by Mark Tantrum
