Epeli Hau’ofa – “Our Sea of Islands”

Hau’ofa, Epeli “Our Sea of Islands”, A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea Of Islands, Suva, Fiji: The University of the South Pacific, 1993, pp.2-16. Print.

The text by Hau’ofa flesh’s out an argument against what used to be (and still remains somewhat) a common presumption that the Pacific nations are small and isolated. Hau’ofa explains how this way of seeing the Pacific is a relatively recent perspective formed through the boundaries imposed by imperialism. These limitations have no historical grounding, as prior to this they saw ‘Their world was anything but tiny’ (Hau’ofa 7). They believed they were connected and part of a larger sphere which included the ocean and heavens (Hau’ofa). This demonstrates the difference between identifying the pacific as ‘islands in a far sea’ compared to a ‘sea of islands’ – ‘Smallness is a state of mind’ (Hau’ofa 7). This important distinction serves a reminder that knowledge is often only a matter of perception.

History is determined by its successors. Knowledge is not absolute, rather, it sits within a particular context and often has self-involved motivation. As time goes on, the hierarchical relationships that produced certain conceptualisations become blurred. It becomes harder to trace back and identify the beginnings of suppression once it has been deeply ingrained as the dominant view.

However, the situation is not hopeless; those such as Hau’ofa have played a critical role examining the epistemological roots of these ideas. It is within these kinds of contexts that art has the ability to play a valuable role by being able to critique, challenge or simply acknowledge certain relationships. Artists such as Patricia Piccinini and Taryn Simon have produced work which challenges presumptions and seeks to uncover certain truths. In Simon’s series ‘An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar’ she ‘attempts to gain access to the guarded domains of culture and knowledge, made abstract and inaccessible to the masses by the anonymous powers that be’ (James 1). It is this kind of questioning that encourages more open minded approaches to knowledge. It allows for suppressive perspectives to be challenged and productive conceptualizations to be formed.

Hau’ofa, Epeli “Our Sea of Islands”, A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea Of Islands, Suva, Fiji: The University of the South Pacific, 1993, pp. 2-16. Print.

James, Sarah Edith “Photography Between the Image & the Word: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar” The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2009, London, England: The Photographers’ Gallery, 2009, pp. 1-3. Print.