Fa'a fefine: in the manner of a woman 1-3

In this photographic triptych, the artist is shown in a grass skirt, as a seemingly conventional dusky nude, and with penis exposed. The work is a response to the long tradition of studio, travel, and anthropological photography, which featured a preoccupation with the stereotype of the ‘dusky maiden’. Fa’a fefine is Samoan for ‘in the manner of a woman’ and refers to a transgender role that was a prominent element of local culture long before Western influence. The Museum is in the process of acquiring works of contemporary Pacific Island art that complement, respond to, and contextualize the Museum’s great collections of historic Oceanic art.