Artist Biography

Taloi Havini (Nakas Tribe, Hakö people) was born in Arawa, Autonomous Region of Bougainville and is currently based in Brisbane, Australia. She employs a research practice informed by her matrilineal ties to her land and communities in Bougainville. This manifests in works created using a range of media including photography, audio – video, sculpture, immersive installation and print.

She curates and collaborates across multi-art platforms using archives, working with communities and developing commissions locally and internationally. Knowledge – production, transmission, inheritance, mapping, and representation are central themes in Havini’s work where she examines these in relation to land, architecture and place.

Havini holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and has exhibited with Artspace, Sydney, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Sharjah Biennial 13, UAE, 3rd Aichi Triennial, Nagoya, 8th & 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art Queensland Art Gallery | GoMA, Brisbane, and was recently commissioned by TBA21–Academy with Schmidt Ocean Institute at Ocean Space, Campo S. Lorenzo, Venezia for her solo at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, 2021. Havini’s artwork is held in public and private collections including TBA21–Academy, Sharjah Art Foundation, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, National Gallery of Victoria, KADIST, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Represented by Silverlens gallery: inquiry@silverlensgalleries.com

Copyright Agency Member
National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
Affiliated Researcher https://www.indigen.eu/projects

Publication by Formist: Taloi Havini: Reclamation An immersive publication that celebrates the artist’s work and deep connection to Bougainville

Solo exhibitions
2023 Shared Aspirations, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand
2021 The Soul Expanding Ocean #1: Taloi Havini (Curated by Chus Martínez), Ocean Space, Campo S. Lorenzo, Venezia. Commissioned by TBA21–Academy and co-produced with Schmidt Ocean
Institute, co-founded by Wendy Schmidt
2020 Reclamation, Artspace, Sydney
2017 Habitat, Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Selected group exhibitions

2024
RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology, Fotomuseum Antwerp,Belgium
Special Projects, Art Fair Philippines, Silverlens, Manila
SEA Focus, Silverlens, Singapore

2023
Fremantle Biennale, Australia
10th Artes Mundi Art Prize, Wales
RE/SISTERS, Barbican Centre, London
Remedios: where new land might grow, C3A Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Córdoba
14th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
2022
In the Heart of Another Country, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
17th Istanbul Biennial, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV)
The 12th Berlin Biennale, Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz, Berlin
Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Aotearoa New Zealand
This language that is every stone, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
UN / LEARNING AUSTRALIA, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) and Artspace, Sydney, SeMA, Seoul, Korea
2021
Art Basel der TANK gallery, Institut Kunst, Basel, Switzerland
Momenta Biennale de l’image, Montréal, Canada
This brittle light: Light Source Commission, Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne
Adelaide//International, Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide

2020
Oceanie, Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, Netherlands
A beast, a god, and a line, Kunsthall Trondheim, Norway
Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh

2019
The Courage for Peace, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
Transits and Returns, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Gertrude Street Projection Festival, Melbourne
52 ARTISTS 52 ACTIONS, Artspace, Sydney
To Make Wrong / Right / Now, Honolulu Biennial, Hawaii, USA
Océanie, Musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac, Paris, France
Vanishing Point, Australian National University School of Art & Design Gallery, Canberra
A Beast, A God and a Line, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; Kunsthall Trondheim, Norway

2018
The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9), Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane
Oceania, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
A Beast, A God and a Line (part of Dhaka Art Summit), Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bangladesh; Para Site, Hong Kong; Yangon, Myanmar
Vanishing Point, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, Gymea
In Your Dreams, Australian Centre for Photography, UNSW Galleries, Sydney Festival

2017
The Pacific, Libby Leshgold Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada
Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs, Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand
The Rubies, Main Gallery, ANU School of Art and Design, Canberra
Limitless Horizon: Vertical Perspective, Queensland Art Gallery| Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane
Prec (ar) ious Collectives, Palais de Tokyo and Pavilion Neuflize OBC, Greece
Soils and stones, Souls and Songs, Para Site, Hong Kong
Sharjah Biennial 13, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
The National: New Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Impact, UTS Gallery, Sydney
The extractive frontier: mining for art, Castlemaine State Festival, Victoria
Another Day in Paradise, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney

2016
Precarious Nature, The Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA), Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
No. 1 Neighbour: Art in Papua New Guinea 1966-2016, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane
Soils and stones, Souls and Songs, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
Impact, Cairns Regional Art Gallery, Cairns
AICHI Triennial, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan
Sugar Spin: You, Me, Art and Everything Else, Queensland Art Gallery| Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane
Art of the Pacific, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
You are invited, Watters Gallery of Victoria, Sydney

2015
The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT 8), Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) , Brisbane
Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Vai Niu Wai Niu Coconut Water, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Caboulture
New Acquisitions, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Collections
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Aotearoa New Zealand
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Australian War Memorial, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
KADIST, San Francisco, CA, USA
Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Australia
Research School of Asia & the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra
Sharjah Art Museum, Al Shuwaiheen, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
TBA21–Academy, Ocean Space Venice
The University of Queensland, Brisbane
The Macquarie Group Collection, Sydney
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Veolia Australia and New Zealand, Sydney

Residencies, Research & Curatorial Projects
2024 – 2025 Fault Lines: Imagining Indigenous futures for colonial collections, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge
2024 – Re- stor(y)ing Oceania, Commissioned by TBA21–Academy TBA21–Academy and OGR Torino; Latai Taumoepeau and Elisapeta Heta, Ocean Space, Campo S. Lorenzo, Venezia
2023 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Visiting Artist Programme, supported by Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.
2022 - ongoing: What can museum anthropology do in the 21st century? Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich, Germany & MAA Cambridge University
2021 The Local Museum of Brisbane, Artist in Residence program supported by Tim Fairfax AC
2020 The Schmidt Ocean Institute Artist- At -Sea residency, Research vessel Falkor, Great Barrier Reef
2019 Artspace, Sydney in partnership with Dhaka Arts Summit 2019 - 2020
2018 International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), Brooklyn, NYC
2017 Pavillon Neuflize OBC residency, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2017 Something you should know seminar designed and organized by Patricia Falguières, Elisabeth Lebovici and Natasa Petresin-Bachelez and supported by the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte
2016 Artist lecture, School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, Manila, Philippines
2014 Practicing Resistance Symposium, presented by Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) in partnership with Curtin University's School of Design and Art (SoDA)
2014 Engaging Communities, Symposium of the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival
2013 Addressing the Archive, Symposium of the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival
2013 Guest lecturer, Photography Studies, School of Creative Arts, Deakin University
2004 Shared History: Stories from the Pacific Collection, Australian Museum

Awards & Grants
2024 Winner, Artes Mundi Art Prize 10, Wales,UK
2024 Art & Architecture Prize, Museum of Brisbane, The Local – Taloi Havini & Speculative Architecture, Australian Institute of Architects Awards Queensland program
2020 National Association Visual Arts
2020 Create NSW
2019 Australia Council for the Arts (Dhaka Arts Summit)
2019 Gordon Darling Foundation (Artspace Sydney in partnership with Dhaka Arts Summit)
2018 Australia Council for the Arts (Asia Pacific Triennial APT9: production of Habitat, 2018)
2018 Edwards Trust ISCP residency and grant award for the International Studio & Curatorial Program, NYC
2018 Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, American Australian Association, USA residency
2018 Create NSW (Quick response grant: International Studio & Curatorial Residency Program, USA)
2017 National Association for Visual Arts (NAVA: grant for new work)
2016 Veolia Acquisitive Award (Primavera, MCA)
2008 Shortlisted for The International Rolex Philanthropic Young Laureates Grants Scheme
2008 Community Prophets Award for environmental advocacy film An Uncertain Future, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival
2004 Acquisitive Graduate Award, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University

Selected bibliography | Reviews
Chaos into calm – the art of Taloi Havini, Nicholas Thomas, Apollo Magazine, 2024
Meeting the matriarchy: extractivism exposed, Alive more than human worlds; Museum der Kulturen, Basel 131 - 137, 2023
Taloi Havini: Reclamation, Artspace and Formist Editions, Sydney 2021
‘Making work as part of the diaspora in Australia: Roundtable with Sana Balai, Brian Fuata, Taloi Havini, Salote Tawale and Ruth McDougall’ in Asia Pacific Art Papers Queensland Art Gallery l Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2021
Roux, Caroline. ‘Deep listening — Taloi Havini conjures the sound of her ancestors at Venice Biennale’, Financial Times, London, May 2021
Hickey, Amber. ‘Remembering the Land: Art, Direct Action, and the Denial of Extractive Realities on Bougainville’ in The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Art, Visual Culture, and Climate Change, eds. TJ Demos, Subhankar Banerjee, and Emily Eliza Scott. Routledge, 2021
Abrams, Amah-Rose. ‘Taloi Havini’s first sonic work dunks the listener in an ocean of sound’, Wallpaper, 2021 Magagnoli, Paolo. ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, Burlington Contemporary, 2019
Cascone, Sarah. ‘8 Highlights From the Honolulu Biennial, From Imelda Marcos’s Jewellery Collection to 100 Portraits of Native Hawaiian Leaders’, artnet news, 2019
Thomas, Nicholas. ‘Human Flow in Melanesia: Taloi Havini’s artefacts and habitats’, Artlink Magazine, Issue 38:3, September, 2018
Weise, Kyle. 'Limitless Horizon: Vertical Perspective', Millennium Film Journal, No.67 Spring, 2018. p 8 - 13
Coleman, Sheridan. 'No Woman is an Island', Art Guide Australia, editorial, April, 2018
Walsh, Elli. 'Vanishing Point', Art Almanac, April 2018
McDougall, Ruth. ‘Ples bilong mi (place belong me) Taloi Havini: Habitat’, Broadsheet Journal, Issue 46.3, 2017, pp. 46–50, 2017
McDougall, Ruth. ‘Taloi Havini’, in French, Blair et al. The National: New Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2017
Kubler, Alison. ‘50 things collectors need to know 2017: Curators’ radar: 16. Taloi Havini’, Art Collector, Issue 79, Jan–Mar 2017
NAVA: in conversation curator Anneke Jaspers with Taloi Havini about Habitat, 2017, final episode in a series exploring The National 2017 AGNSW
Havini, Taloi. un Magazine - un Projects, Issue 10.1, 2016, p. 7
McKenzie, Helen. ‘If I could have’, Art Collector, Issue 76, Apr–Jun 2016
Rubeli, Ella. ‘Born in the Bougainville conflict: a photography series’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 2015
Bolatagici, Torika; Gordon-Smith, Gordon; Havini, Taloi; Kake, Leilani; Eshraghi, Léuli; Tavola, Ema. ‘Socially Engaged Arts Practice in Oceania’, In Conversation: Place and Revolution, 27 March 2015
McDougall, Ruth. ‘Highlight: Taloi Havini and Stuart Miller 'Blood Generation'’, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Blog, 16 June 2015
Genoux, Isabelle (presenter). ‘New Voice for Blood Generation through photography’, Radio Australia, 25 March 2014
Genoux, Isabelle (presenter). ‘Giving a voice to Bougainville youth’, Radio Australia, 28 March 2014
Havini, Taloi. ‘Addressing the Archive: Pacific collections in museums and galleries’, Mana Motu, Issue 1, 2014, pp. 42–56
Havini, Taloi. ‘Acknowledging the Blood Generation: Bougainville’, Artlink, Vol. 33, No. 4, 2013, pp. 41–43
Havini, Taloi. ‘An uncertain future’, Mana Motu, Issue 1, 2013, pp. 16–19
Havini, Taloi. ‘Shrouded in Mystery’, Explore, Australian Museum, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2010, p. 6
Havini, Taloi. ‘An uncertain future’, Explore, Australian Museum, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2008, pp. 14–16
Havini, Taloi and McRae, Georgia (Producers). An Uncertain Future (Film), Pacific Black Box Inc. Melbourne, 2008
Havini, Taloi. ‘Bougainville's totems autonomous: Naboin, Nakas, Nakaripa, Natasi’, Avicam, 6 December 2003