Memories of family toil on the land
Onion pickers, backs bent over the brown soil in the surrounding fields have been an iconic image of Pukekohe for decades.
Now this annual part of our rural heritage has been celebrated in art.
Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi has contributed Onion Picker, a mixed media installation which is a centrepiece to the Heterodox Us exhibition at the Franklin Arts Centre.
For many school holidays in the 1970s and 1980s MageleSuamasi would come from tara with her two parents and seven siblings to toil in the onion and potato fields around Franklin.
It has left an indelible memory, which she transformed into an artwork which has in turn evoked memories and started conversations among gallery visitors.
Two rows of onion sacks run through the gallery, each emblazoned with anecdotes shared by Magele-Suamasi’s siblings when she told them she was creating this work.
They capture the hard work of picking: ‘‘Everything and everyone smells like onions’’; ‘‘and then the sound of onion clippers all day until sunset’’ but also the sense of family and togetherness that the days of picking brought: ‘‘glass gallon bottles filled with orange cordial drinks’’ and ‘‘pain, endurance, teamwork, pride.’’
‘‘Our holidays were not like other kids’ holidays. All our holidays were working holidays,’’ she says.
It was a tough, tiring way to earn money to help make ends meet for the family but MageleSuamasi says she and her brothers and sisters look back fondly on those days.
Working on the art piece has been a journey of ‘‘family rediscovery, almost I would say preservation of our family history’’, she says.
‘‘I remember the unpacking of the clippers, the sound of them as we worked, and then the lunch breaks, cordial and corned beef. They were good times.’’ For her parents, from Samoa, the chance to get back to working on the land was something they
What, where, when
■ Heterodox Us
■ Franklin Arts Centre, Pukekohe ■ Runs till June 18 loved, she says. And she and her siblings recognise it helped imbue them with a sense of discipline and work ethic, which has paid off for the family – five of them now have university degrees spanning a range of topics.
She is also delighted in seeing how the work has triggered so many memories for locals.
‘‘It marks a time for Pukekohe, being the agriculture epicentre of Auckland.’’ Onion Picker is only the third artwork produced by Magele-Suamasi, though she is not new to the sector, having spent 20 years working in art outreach for Auckland Art Gallery and art management. She became a fulltime artist herself in 2020.
Heterodox Us is a collection of superb artworks from 11 artists including Fatu Feu’u, Dagmar Dyck and Delicia Sampero, curated by Annie Bradley and renowned artist Andy Leleisi’uao.