Veibuni 2018

The experience of loss and the practice of ongoing care is explored in Veibuni as Tawale returns to her love of karaoke, singing the song ‘The flame’ by American rock band Cheap Trick. As the words of this popular 1988 song about loss and yearning scroll across the bottom of the screen, the image of the artist becomes overlaid with images of her paternal village in Fiji. She references one of the most prevalent and powerful expressions of romantic love — the love song — to communicate the depth of feeling and connection that she and other First Nations peoples feel towards land, culture and place.