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Into the arms of my coloniser : re-imagining myself and the other : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
Postcolonialism
is
not
a
subject
I
have
chosen
to
explore,
rather,
it
is
a
reality
that
I
have
been
born
into.
As
a
Samoan
New
Zealander
I
find
myself
automatically
designated
the
position
of
‘other’,
and
my
image
perpetually
projected
through
the
lens
of
the
dominant
culture.
This
exegesis
seeks
to
explore
various
points
of
view
(including
my
own)
as
a
way
of
challenging
those
projections.
My
approach
is
autobiographical,
examining
Edouard
Glissant’s
‘multiples’
as
they
exist
within
me,
and
locating
a
video
art
space
for
those
different
voices
to
materialise.
Into
The
Arms
Of
My
Coloniser:
Re-‐imagining
Myself
and
The
Other
is
a
study
into
disestablishing
the
binary
that
defines
myself
as
in
opposition
to
the
dominant
culture.
Through
video
and
performance
I
occupy
the
space
described
by
Alison
Jenkins
and
Kuni
Jones
as
the
“indigene-‐coloniser
hyphen”
(2008),
a
space
that
allows
for
cultural
distinctions
but
also
acknowledges
the
interwoven
nature
of
the
relationship
between
indigenous
cultures
and
their
colonisers.
