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Andy Leleisi’uao is an artist who uses a diverse range of styles and medium, however always with a central theme of his community, as a New Zealand born Samoan in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand. His work is full of place, his place, his parents’, his children’s. Yet the themes which he speaks of through his art, while using a Pacific Island base as his vehicle of expression as a contemporary Islander in New Zealand, have a universal concern for a growing multi-cultural nation. When Andy speaks of language barriers (both inter-generational and inter-societal) and the desire of immigrant parents to provide the best for their families they are themes and hurdles which all immigrants must negotiate. When he speaks of youth suicide, given New Zealand’s high general rate within Western nations we should all stop and think. When he speaks of the Dawn Raids it is a slice of the history of Aotearoa/New Zealand that affected living members of our society, and should not be forgotten, swept under the carpet, if we are to learn and grow as a nation. When he celebrates the position of women within the Samoan community showing them as angels and cheerleaders we can celebrate with him. And when he paints a fantasy Pacific Island isolated from all but a community of Samoans who have made their way there and the aliens that have been using the island as a warehouse of collectibles of human endeavour we can sit back and enjoy the fun and games with him pictorially. Innate within the art is the message to look at your environment, your community, your history and enjoy, play, celebrate and learn. Often a voice on his own in Aotearoa/New Zealand he rejects the use of archetypical Pacific Island iconography and has developed his own range of symbolisms. Inherent in this new range of symbols is a denunciation of the worldview of Pacifica as an eternal place of happy people who we do not need to worry about, and a refutation of the seed planted from colonial voyeurism which has grown to become the Western assumption of the Pacific as an ideal, a neverneverland holiday destination where everything is happy and the ubiquitous frangipani fall everyday behind a right ear. In this environment Andy Leleisi’uao’s work can be viewed either as a refreshing revelation or as threatening malevolent beast, rarely does it leave the viewer indifferent.
In the early days of his career Leleisi’uao, influenced by his work in factories and the lives of his youthful peers, produced highly eruptive works depicting suicide, deportation, racism and the hard grind of the blue collar worker in Maunkau City, where Aotearoa/New Zealand's largest Pacific Island population is found. Mid-career his focus changed to the workings of his own community, the problems felt by immigrants, the often diametrically opposing demands and customs/behaviours of their ethnic community and the wider community in which they lived. The role the church, monetary obligations, social obligations play on the lives of the Samoan community. The barriers of language and social expectations created between generations who effectively had been raised in different worlds. He now, still with an eye to inequalities, historical malpractice and the difficulty of building a future in a new world, incorporates the media of young New Zealanders (influenced by his children) and includes thoughtful insights and questions as to what facets of Samoan culture will continue to thrive. One theme remains the same throughout his years as an artist, he continues to celebrate Samoan culture, to be thankful that he was taught the language and to believe that at the end of the day, family is the axis that keeps his world on track and spinning - L. James.