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  • About the Artist:Sue Pearson

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Sista Hihi, by Sue Pearson Woodcut, 2008, 38" × 25"

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Photo by Mark Glentworth

Norfolk Island artist Sue Pearson is a descendant of the mutineers of the HMS Bounty and the Tahitian women who settled on Pitcairn Island, and later Norfolk Island. In 1988, she received a bachelor's degree in Visual Arts from Newcastle University in Australia. During her time there, she was introduced to a wide range of art mediums, of which printmaking became her principle mode of artistic expression.

Sue worked for several years as a graphic designer in Australia, the Cook Islands, and Norfolk Island while continuing to build her fine art practice. In 1995, she opened her first business—Aatuti Art—an art gallery retail store on Norfolk Island. In recent years, she has been the manager and co-designer of Pili Design, a company she owns and operates with her husband, Herman Pi'ikea Clark.

Sue uses her art to explore and visually express such themes as Norfolk Island's natural and political environments, and her people's cultural heritage, history, and future aspirations. Sue uses trans-Pasifika symbols and motifs to illuminate the cultural connections that exist between Norfolk Islanders, Tahitians, Pitcairn Islanders, and other peoples in the wider Pacific—connections that have for many years been overshadowed by the Island's political links with Australia.

In 2008, Sue and a group of other Norfolk Island and Pitcairn women formed the Ahu Sistas, and exhibited their work in Tahiti and on Norfolk Island. The exhibition was not only a tribute to their Tahitian ancestresses but also served as an educational tool for their people. Sue considers the show her most important work to date.

While in recent years Sue has resided in New Zealand with her husband and two children, Norfolk Island continues to be her home, and artistic and spiritual base.

The art featured in this issue can be viewed in full color in the online version of The Contemporary Pacific via Project MUSE. [End Page vii]


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Va'a series AP 4, by Sue Pearson Relief print, 2009, 16" × 16"

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Aata III, by Sue Pearson Relief print, 2007, 7.5" × 7.5"

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Honu Daun aa Kord, by Sue Pearson Silkscreen with handmade paper, 1995, 15" × 15"

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Ka Do Fe Luk Orn (detail), by Sue Pearson Carved and painted wood, 2007, 32" × 48"

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Va'a series AP 1, by Sue Pearson Relief print, 2009, 16" × 16"

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Where We Are Whole, by Sue Pearson Relief print, 2004, 14" × 11"

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Va'a (detail), by Sue Pearson Carved and painted wood, 2008, 48" × 48"

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