The Last Resort

“Surrounded by a wall of sacks filled with empty glass bottles. They are stitching up the sea. Wearing brick sandals on their feet and armed with an ‘ike (Tongan mallet) exclusively used to beat mulberry bark into large ceremonial cloth called ngatu or tapa, They smash and crush the glass into the present future. Empty, torn sacks adorn their necks as a lei or sisi, usually a garland of fresh tropical flowers and leaves worn as a body adornment in formal Pacific Island presentations, also used to welcome guests and keep their necks cool. They are stitching up sea at /as the last resort."

'The Last Resort' excavates a dystopian image and experience of idyllic island landscapes, mostly considered as holiday destinations to outsiders. This endurance performance installation explores the fragility and vulnerability of saltwater ecologies and communities of Pacific Island nations in Oceania, responding to the emotional, geo-political and physical labour of Pacific people and their struggle in the acceleration of rising sea levels due to the melting of ice glaciers, threatening mass exodus and displacement.