The artist

Andrés Pakarati, 33 year old, artist , tattooist and traditional Polynesian carver, lives and works in Hanga roa, Easter Island. Coming from a traditional Rapa Nui artist family (carvers, musicians and sculptors) from ancient times, where the tradition is passed generation to generation. He started is work like a traditional Polynesian artist when he was only 16 year old. He first worked as a tattooist and after this he was interested in the traditional carvings that eventually took him to contemporary art and sculpture. The most of his work can be found in many places around the world: from the prestige Ganesha gallery in Tahiti to private collections in Europe, the U.S. and Chile. His works are rich in fine details and expression, and his creations go from Polynesian musical instruments, to traditional carvings and contemporary sculptures.

Polynesian art

around the world the art of polynesia is recognized by his unique and fine quality work. they were the same men, who colonized the whole pacific ocean, the ones who, thru his art and history left us his particular vision about the man, the nature and the magic. between whole polynesia Easter Island is considered to be one of the most mysterious and amazing cultures of the south pacific, located in an edge of the polynesia this isolated piece of land, so called rapa nui for his original population, is were can be many of the representative and admired woodcarving masterpiece in the pacific culture.

The wood carvings

The wood carvings with figurative forms are very common in the polynesia. every island have is own traditional figure: the moai pa’a pa’a in Easter Island (Rapa Nui), the tiki in the Marquesas ( Fenua Enata), lono in Hawai’i , etc. All of them have got the same structure where the hand position, eyes and mouth have a critical importance in the expression and the meaning of the figure. Most of the times, the carving represents a mythological being with a zoomorphic form, but in other cases the figure only represents a human being .