Ancestral buildings in the Pacific have an inherent brilliance in ‘their shining’ that draws people to them because they are embodied and blessed with mana. The lecture will look at how mana is materialised in Pacific buildings and why their shimmering qualities can be credited to the relationship between magic and technology, producing enchanted artefacts. The lecture will explain why the word for building in Polynesia—fale, hale, whare—means something that is drawn around rituals, thereby creating a covering apparatus that preserves the 'thing' being housed.
Leali’ifano Dr Albert L. Refiti is Associate Professor of Art and Design at Auckland University of Technology, where he is co-leader of the Vā Moana Research Cluster in the Faculty of Design and Creative Technology.
Followed by refreshments.
In partnership with Victoria University of Wellington.
