EXIST by House of Iliganoa

House of Iliganoa acknowledges the traditional custodians of this nation. We pay our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the land in which our business is located and where we conduct our art. We pay homage to ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. House of Iliganoa is committed to honouring the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their invaluable contribution to the world.
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By House of Iliganoa
EXIST - A word that can create a narrative which either questions or reaffirms one’s state of mind
If I was to tell you “I exist” - you would already know
If I was to tell you about my existence - you would already see
If I was to show you how I am existing, would you listen?
To be diverse, I could exist by the norm. To be culturally diverse, it’s like, I have the option to exist by the comforts of my peers as oppose to the comforts of my ancestors….
To exist is to be present. But what is present without a past; for the past is the foundation of the narrative that we speak of....
It’s my spiritual connection, not only an acknowledgement but a physical statement. For my existence is homage, a reflection of a sacrifice worthwhile.
Their vision
Our art
My craft
The embodiment of an unmeasurable connection....
A connection that, for me, creates an inquisition to my existence and at the same time provides a level of affirmation and a deeper acknowledgement of the sacrifice for a vision....
...A vision that was SELFLESS.
...A vision that they yearned for but knew they will not live to see.
...A vision that they had FAITH in eventually experiencing, not through the eyes of their own, but through the eyes and pure existence of their offspring.
This is how I EXIST.
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Heart of gratitude for these amazing people - Greg Duncan, Tavina Yettica Paulson, Whitley Hunt, Mark Yettica-Paulson, Maryan Taliapau. Your pure love to us throughout the process of preparing Exist couldn’t have been made appropriately, respectfully and sacred without your support ♥️.
Thank you to Conscious Mic team for allowing us to not only showcase but also, for allowing us to do an acknowledgement to country. An acknowledgement we performed in our own unique way - merging both traditions in the process through the Samoan fa’afeiloaiga and the Aboriginal welcome song - Gari Gynda Narmi.
**Note - Aboriginal people orchestrate clapping sticks to invite ancestral spirits. During Sualauvi’s faafeiloaiga Greg was inviting ancestral spirits through orchestrating the clap sticks in the background, awakening them to witness our acknowledgement and ultimately paying homage to the traditional custodians.
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“Paying homage to our ancestors is a privilege and we are blessed with this privilege”
-House of Iliganoa, Lanatina & Sualauvi
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