Performance
Vā is a live drum performance by Dr Sione Faletau exploring the relationship between vā (relational space) and ongo (sound, feeling, sensing, and listening). Within Tongan thought, vā is not an empty space but a living space of connection that exists between people, places, ancestors, and environments. Through rhythm, resonance, and improvisation, the performance responds directly to the architecture and acoustics of the site, allowing sound to reveal and activate these relationships. Drawing on the concept of ongo as an embodied way of knowing, Vā invites audiences to experience space not only through hearing, but through feeling vibration, presence, connection, and the unseen relationships that bind us together.
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
Performance: October 2, 6 pm / Flutgraben
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Presentation: October 2, 6 pm / Flutgraben
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Photo: Sione Faletau, La Sio’ata and Ongo mei he fonua ©