Greg Semu Exhibit Celebrates Pacific Cultures

A new photographic exhibition by New Zealand-born Greg Semu on at Cairns Regional Gallery celebrates the tradition and culture of Pacific nations and challenges commonly held beliefs about the region’s colonisation.

Semu has a 20-year career that includes numerous international residencies and exhibitions.

The exhibition, “12”, brings together works including a striking portrait of international rugby league star Roy Asotasi showcasing his Samoan heritage, and a unique recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting, The Last Supper.

Semu was the first artist in residence at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris in 2007. In 2015 he held a solo exhibition titled “Two Bodies, Two Landscapes, Zwei Körper, Zwei Lanschafte”, at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. His work will be the subject of a major exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria later this year.

Semu was born in 1971.

The exhibition “12” runs through 12 June.

Original article by Jim Campbell, The Cairns Post, April 16, 2016.