FUSIÓN - HAKA PIRI

The collection has already travelled across three continents. It was first exhibited in April 2016 at the Aukara Gallery on Easter Island, before moving to the Museo de Artes Decorativas (The Museum of Decorative Arts) in Santiago, Chile, from December 2016 to January 2017. It was then shown at the Tate Modern in January 2017 as part of the Tate Exchange, London, in ‘This is an Art School’- a collaborative exhibition with students from Central St Martins. It was further showcased at the Embassy of Chile, London, between April and May 2017 and was presented at art fairs in Massachusetts, USA, Barcelona, Spain and Bucharest, Romania on various occasions between 2016 and 2018.

‘Fusion – Haka Piri’ is a 30-piece silversmith collection, based on the archaeological culture of Easter Island. Set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island or Rapa Nui is the most isolated human habitat on Earth. It lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, culturally part of Polynesia, geographically part of Oceania and territorially and politically part of Chile. In a bid to preserve its uniqueness, the Chilean Government designated Easter Island as a National Park and in 1995 it was proclaimed by UNESCO to be a World Cultural Heritage Site.

The ‘Fusion – Haka Piri’ collection merges the spirit of Easter Island ancestral craftwork with the vision of a continental Chilean artist. ‘Haka Piri’ meaning ‘let’s try and bring together’ is the best translation in the island’s native tongue to embody the soul of the collection. This hand-crafted jewellery collection seeks to rescue and preserve the island’s heritage, creating objects that are not mere copies or pastiches of ancient crafts, but are also contemporary representations, hand crafted using materials found on the Island.