LATAI TAUMOEPEAU – THIS IS NOT A DRILL

Latai Taumoepeau, born in 1972 in Sydney, is a contemporary artist of Tongan and Australian origine. Recognised as a Punake—a Tongan term for an artist who composes poetry, songs, and choreography—she builds her artistic practice around faivā, a performative practice focused on the body.

Her work “Deep Communion sung in minor” (ArchipelaGO, THIS IS NOT A DRILL) is a 16-channel immersive sound installation that invites the public to take part in a durational performance, raising awareness about the dangers of deep-sea mining in the Pacific.

Built around a platform of sound and stationary rowers, the work evokes mass collective worship rituals. It overlays geopolitical issues with cultural complexities, particularly those linked to spiritual beliefs and ritual practices, through faivā performances (focused on the body). The installation is presented at Fondation Opale as part of the 2nd edition of Biennale Son.

This immersive installation is Taumoepeau’s interpretation of an ancient choral ritual known as Me’etu’upaki: (me’e) means dance, (tu’u) standing, (paki) with paddles. As visitors engage collectively with the stationary rowers, they amplify the ceremonial power of this traditional practice — turning collective effort into a gesture of resistance against deep-sea mining. At the heart of the piece lies a profound ancestral cultural obligation: to keep the cosmogony of the artist’s Tongan ancestors alive through the vā (space/time), where the Kele (ocean sediment) and Limu (seaweed) remain intact. Taumoepeau then asks the question: who is willing to carry out this work in a spirit of ecological responsibility?

The installation can be activated by visitors during Fondation Opale’s opening hours.

The following day, 31 August, Latai Taumoepeau will give an artist talk: Climate Justice in the Pacific.

Free admission
Booking required: online ticketing

Photo: Nicolò Miana