Jeremy Leatinu'u

Name
Jeremy Leatinu'u
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngāti Maniapoto/Māori
Safune, Puʻapuʻa, Vailoa, Fatausi, Safotu, Safotulafai (Sāmoa)/Sāmoa
Germany
China
Date of birth
1984
Place of birth
Auckland (region)/New Zealand
Gender
Male
Biography
Jeremy Leatinu‘u is an artist of Ngāti Maniapoto and Sāmoan descent based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Leatinu’u graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2008, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 2009. He has held academic positions at Elam School of Fine Arts, AUT and Whitecliffe School of Art and Design. In 2020, Leatinu’u completed a Diploma in Te Pīnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi/Te Reo Full Immersion. Since 2021, Leatinu’u has been a Kaiako – Te Ara Reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Leatinu’u’s early practice is characterised by public object interventions such as Public Observations II (2010) where he has choreographed simple actions or movements that profoundly engage with the complex nexus of time, place, language and people. Since 2019, his works have become increasingly collaborative and participatory, and seek to navigate the space between narration, visual arts and film.

Leatinu’u has shown in a number of film festivals including the Berlin International Film Festival, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Montréal First Peoples Festival and the Wairoa Māori Film Festival. He has exhibited and presented collaborative projects throughout Aotearoa New Zealand including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Artspace Aotearoa, Te Tuhi, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, internationally including Hawai’i, France, Venice, China, Germany, Spain and New York.

Leatinu’u’s artwork has featured in major national and international exhibitions including Naadohbii: To Draw Water 2021-22 at Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, Canada and Melbourne Museum, Présence Autochtone, Montréal First Peoples Festival 2019, Canada; the 2019 Honolulu Biennial titled To Make/Wrong/Right/Now and Māori Moving Image: An Open Archive (2019) at the Dowse Art Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Te Uru.

Recent solo projects include Te Whakawhitinga at The Physics Room, Christchurch 2022, The Anthem Project (2016) at Te Papa Tongarewa, and Primal Movements (2015) at Toi o Tāmaki.