Lecture
This presentation explores the Tongan concept of ongo —a term that encompasses sound, feeling, sensing, resonance, and attentive listening. Drawing from his interdisciplinary art practice, Dr Sione Faletau examines how sound can operate as a carrier of cultural knowledge, memory, and connection. Through examples of audio-visual installations, projection mapping, sculpture, and digital kupesi (Tongan patterns), he demonstrates how environmental sounds, ancestral narratives, and scientific data can be transformed into immersive experiences. The presentation considers the relationships between body, fonua (land/people), moana (ocean), and technology, offering Indigenous perspectives on storytelling, perception, and contemporary artistic practice.
Dr Sione Faletau is an interdisciplinary artist of Tongan descent based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. His practice explores the intersections of sound, light, and Indigenous pattern-making through digital and sculptural forms. Grounded in the Tongan concept of ‘ongo —meaning sound, feeling, and listening—his work translates environmental soundscapes into kupesi (traditional Tongan patterns), revitalising ancestral knowledge through contemporary technologies like projection mapping and audio-visual installation.
Faletau holds a Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Auckland, where his research focused on Tongan masculinity from an Indigenous perspective. His work has been exhibited internationally and nationally, including the Hawai‘i Triennial 2025, Bundanon Art Museum, Artspace Sydney, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Audio Foundation. He is also the recipient of several awards and residencies, including the Toi Hourua Digital Grant, the Te Pūnaha Matatini Artist Residency, and the Digital Fellowship (Australia Council and Creative New Zealand).
Through his practice, Faletau continues to build connections between fonua (land), moana (ocean), and cultural memory, offering new ways of storytelling that honour and reimagine Moana Pacific visual languages.
lnstagram: @sionefaletauartist
Lecture: October 9, 3-6 pm / Flutgraben
RELATED EVENTS:
Exhibition: October 2 – 17 / Flutgraben
Performance: October 2, 8 pm / Flutgraben
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Photo: Sione Faletau, Manava Mo’ui (Breath of Life), projection mapping, sculptural mirrors, audio © 2023