Pacific Arts: The Journal of the Pacific Arts Association

This article explores the exhibition ‘Amui ‘i Mu‘a/Ancient Futures, showcasing the work of Tongan artists Dagmar Vaikalafi Dyck and Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi from the 1990s to the 2020s. New texts in English and te reo Māori were developed for the exhibition at Hastings City Art Gallery–Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga; this article reproduces them alongside photographs of the installation. The exhibition was part of a research project examining the legacies of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Tongan art practices. Dyck’s multimedia work reflects Tongan feminine textile traditions, while Tohi’s sculptures explore the ancient lashing technique of lalava. The overall project highlights how these artists, in collaboration with international scholars and communities, reclaim and repatriate Tongan knowledge systems encoded in woven, layered, and carved objects, bridging the past and future through art.