In hyper girls, aspects of Ani O’Neill’s and Lisa Reihana’s heritage — Cook Islander and Māori respectively — are juxtaposed with popular culture, fashion and design through a process of segmenting or splitting the screen into a fast-moving display of sound and image. These ‘Pacific Sisters’ are street-wise young women with a fresh and humorous take on contemporary life: ‘Hyper Girls rock, Hyper Girls rule’. They bridge the gap between international fashionistas and cultural ambassadors with a mere swoop of the mascara wand, secure in the knowledge that ‘Brown is the new gold, girls are the next boys, and that a place in history is just a newsflash away’.¹

Endnote

1. Ani O'Neill and Lisa Reihana, [Artists' statement] to Anne Kirker, QAGOMA Research Library, March 1999.