Ani O’Neill

Ani O’Neill (born 1971) is a New Zealand artist of Cook Island (Ngati Makea, Ngati Te Tika) and Irish descent.[1] She has been described by art historian Karen Stevenson as one of the core members of a group of artists of Pasifika descent who brought contemporary Pacific art to “national prominence and international acceptance”

Using a craft-based practice that employs identifiably Pacific materials, O’Neill’s work is often collaborative or community-based.

O'Neill was taught traditional textile crafts such as tīvaevae by her Cook Islands grandmother

O’Neill has also used plaiting and braiding techniques in her work to make pieces linked to mats and lei, yet more forms of art traditionally created by women

In 2006-2008 O'Neill participated in Pasifika Styles, an exhibition of fifteen New Zealand artists, mostly of Maori and Pacific Island descent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ani_O%27Neill

Using craft skills that blend her Cook Island and Irish background, Ani O'Neill makes a wide range of objects and installations.

Brisbane’s Asia Pacific Triennial and attributed to her status as a pioneer in Aotearoa’s Contemporary Pacific Arts.

Using wool, recycled plastic bags or items from discount outlets and opportunity shops, Ani makes objects which draw on traditional Cook Island handcraft skills to communicate the cultural values and teachings of her Cook Island Grandmother and their importance today. In this, her work embodies numerous issues- Post Colonialism, the environment, identity politics, institutional hierarchies, consumerism, world peace etc. Described as an ‘artistic provocateur’ and 'change agent’ whose work is ‘thought provoking and highly original’ (Isha Welsh), a unique and subversive aspect of Ani's practise lies in her ability to break down the barriers between people and art-world institutions, often creating an ‘awareness’ and a sense of community through cultural exchange and connective experience rather than pushing any individual statement.

http://www.tautai.org/artist/ani-oneill/

What I have learnt:

She has full access to the culture and their traditional way of making things because she is directly descended from that culture and was taught the skill by her grandmother.
She is accepted in the community because she has evidence of her ancestory.
She is a cross cultural decendant and seems to focus on one more than the other (her works are more pacifica than irish.) There is evidence of the cultures blending
She deals with post colonialism and identity