Kulimoe'anga Maka

Kulimoe'anga 'Stone' Maka's art is imbued with his Tongan culture. Stone has developed a unique form of abstract art based on the sacred ngatu 'uli (black tapa).

Fata

In 1997, Stone left his teaching position in Tonga on the premise of a visit to a sister in Auckland but in the back of his mind he always knew he would stay to further his art. Soon after, he enrolled in Whitecliffe College of Art & Design and then Manukau Institute of Technology where he was able to experiment and work alongside other artists.

Through his art, Stone maintains a vibrant and inquisitive connection to his Tongan culture.

Having worked on canvas and board for his first 10 years of making art in Auckland, Stone renewed his appreciation for traditional materials and the range of possibilities that surrounded him during his youth by painting on ngatu made by his mother and sisters.

Fena e tau kei mula e tau

Stone also researches ngatu 'uli and the strong abstract forms from hundreds of years ago, long before the abstract stylings of modern artists. Finding inspiration from those abstract forms and creating his own pigments from red clay and the bark of mangroves, Stone's paintings fuse pure abstract form with ngatu.

Looking for other techniques, Stone developed methods of painting using traditional methods of smoking in a contemporary way. The memory of his father was the catalyst, prompting Stone to begin working with smoke as a medium for his work. An artist, fisherman, builder, singer, painter and a role model, his father died of lung cancer in 1984 when Stone was just 13. He is also inspired by some of the ngatu 'uli that was smoked for certain effects, as well as ta'ovala faka'ahu (smoked mats) and smoking used in rituals and for flavouring foods.

The manipulated smoke stains canvases with earthy tones of red and brown fields of colour which subtly

Angaki

pulsate while circles hover to balance the compositions. The circles signify women; the female essence is important to Stone because according to Tongan custom, "women are ranked higher than men in every part of society and circles symbolize infinity, akin to women giving life."

Stone has achieved the difficult task of balancing Tongan and Western elements in a dynamic style through an innovative technology. He continually strives to improve his methods of painting with smoke at his Christchurch studio. In 2009, he was awarded the Macmillan Brown Pacific Studies Artist Residency where he completed a portion of the Faka'ahu: Contemporary Fumage. Stone exhibits regularly at CoCA Christchurch, McCarthy Gallery, Auckland, okaioceanicart, Auckland, and he won the Margaret Stoddard Award in 2008.