The Vanya Taule’alo Gallery inaugural exhibition

The Togo series

These paintings are from body of work, Togo Samoa. Inspired by the mangroves of Samoa, I use the mangroves forests to address issues relating to Climate Change. I am greatly concerned about the environment and see mangroves as one of our most vulnerable, fragile and at risk ecosystems, yet they are one of our most important environments. With the increasing numbers of tropical storms and extreme global events such as tsunamis the mangroves are a vital protective buffer between the land and the ocean. They also play a critical role in the life cycle of many species, providing nursery and permanent homes for a wide range of Samoan fauna and flora; some common others threatened or endangered.

Mangrove forests are found between the sea and land and are well adapted to diverse conditions. They protect the coastal areas, provide the breeding grounds for marine biodiversity and wildlife and act as an excellent storage for carbon. Mangrove wetlands have provided both protection and food to our island communities and contribute extensively to inter-reef food sources.

The rapid destruction and degradation of the mangrove habitats and estuaries should be of major concern to the Samoan people. These unique ecosystems are threatened by human development endangering these declining habitats. The effects of climate change, sea level rise, erosion, salinity changes and sand mining have damaged the mangroves and coastal ecosystem. Growing numbers of people on the coastal areas have continued to put pressure on mangrove wetlands. Dumping rubbish and reclamation of the swamps for development is irreversibly destroying the mangrove forests. Factories also pollute the mangroves by discharging their waste directly in to them, causing destruction of the mangrove environments.

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