Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni BEM (born 1947)[1] is a Cook Islands artist and writer. A master carver, he has been described as a taonga (treasure).[2] His role in the pacific art community is recognised from New Zealand to Hawaii.[3]
Mike Tavioni | |
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 Mike Tavioni in 2022 | |
| Born | 1947 (age 76–77) |
| Alma mater | Tereora College Northland College Massey University Auckland University of Technology |
| Occupations |
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Tavioni was born on Rarotonga. He was educated at Tereora College, then at Northland College, Kaikohe and Massey University in New Zealand, graduating with a degree in Agriculture & Horticulture.[4] After working as a public servant in the Agriculture Department, he became a full-time artist.[4] In 2019 he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Auckland University of Technology.[5][6]
He has worked in a wide variety of mediums, including printing, painting, wood, stone, and bone, as well as traditional tattooing.[4] In 1975 he began printing t-shirts using wooden blocks.[7] He experimented with other mediums, but initially found it difficult to obtain tools and materials.[7] In 1996 he oversaw the creation of the Punanga Nui market.[8] In 2002 he published a poetry collection, Speak Your Truth.[9] His work is displayed at the Punanga Nui in Avarua and the University of the South Pacific campus.[10] In 2016 he was commissioned, alongside New Zealand-based artist Michel Tuffery, to create a carved wooden gateway for the RSA memorial cemetery to commemorate the centenary of Cook Islands participation in the First World War.[11]
Tavioni unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Unity party in the 1978 Cook Islands general election.[12] He later stood as a candidate for the Te Kura O Te ʻAu People's Movement in Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston in the 2010 election.[13]
Tavioni now runs a gallery and art school in Rarotonga,[14] where he teaches traditional vaka-making.[15] In 2021 he was the subject of a short documentary film, Taonga: An Artists Activist.[16]
In the 2022 Birthday Honours he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the arts and to the community.[17][1]
Images
Punanga Nui sculpture, 1998
Cook Islands RSA Memorial Gateway, 2017
Wood carving for NZ High Commission, 2019
