Sione Tuívailala Monū (born 1993
Auckland,
New Zealand) is an Australian and New Zealand interdisciplinary artist of
Tongan descent notable for their use of
beads and flowers.[1][2]
Biography
Monū grew up around
Australia, as their father's job was in the
Australian Defence Force. Their mother is an avid collector of
Tongan crafts, adornments and
ngatu (bark cloth). As a child, Monū enjoyed experimenting with materials, "Flowers as a material and symbol have always been something I’ve responded to since I was a child." Monū was not taught how to make Tongan crafts in a traditional way, so they developed their own interpretations with materials they had at hand.[3]
Monū lives between
Canberra, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand, and works across the different mediums of photography, moving-image, fashion and adornment, performance and drawing exploring identity, family and Pacific peoples' queer experience in the diaspora.[4]