This workshop centres the malu, the Samoan female tattoo, as a living archive of cultural knowledge and ancestral presence. Through discussion, drawing, writing, and embodied practice, participants will explore how Indigenous knowledge is encoded in the body, and how these markings intersect with gender, identity, and sovereignty. Grounded in my own malu and artistic practice, the workshop invites critical reflection on issues of cultural appropriation, authorship, and the responsibilities of working with Indigenous visual systems.
“‘O le mamalu o le fafine, o le malu.”
The dignity of the woman is her malu.
- Materials included