Yuki Kihara

b. 1975, Sāmoa
Lives and works in Sāmoa

“‘Who am I, what am I, and what are you?’ are questions that will never haunt or torment Kihara. Rather, they provide her with the material for her artwork. The possible answers to these questions are always limited and draw boundaries that Kihara will continue to cross in the expression of her existence.’”– Jim Vivieaere

Yuki Kihara is an interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Sāmoan descent working and living in Sāmoa. Her research-driven works and projects seek to challenge dominant and singular historical narratives by exploring the intersectionality between identity politics, decolonisation and ecology. Kihara incorporates Sāmoan aesthetics and cultural codes through performance, collage, photography, film and curation, redirecting viewers to the concerns of contemporary Pacific Islanders.

Kihara’s most recent body of work Tala o le tau: Stories from the weather (2025) is a series of traditional fala su’i (embroidered mats), adorned with vibrantly coloured satellite imagery of tropical cyclones occurring in and around Sāmoa over the last two decades. The mats have been made in collaboration with women from the Moata’a Aualuma Community – a group of skilled weavers and embroiderers based in Sāmoa’s Upolu Island. The works reflect Kihara’s commitment to representing Pacific perspectives on a global scale, exploring themes of climate crisis, matrilineal histories and indigenous knowledge systems.

Kihara’s works have been exhibited extensively both locally and internationally, with works presented at the Gwangju Biennale (2023); Aichi Triennale (2022); Bangkok Art Biennale (2018); Honolulu Biennale (2017); Asia Pacific Triennial (2015 and 2002) and Sakahàn Quinquennial (2013) to name a few. In 2022, Kihara made history by being the first Pasifika artist to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale – to critical acclaim.

She has been the subject of solo exhibitions worldwide, including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Powerhouse Museum; Sainsbury Centre; and the Pātaka Museum.

Her work is held in over 30 permanent collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts; British Museum; National Museum of Scotland; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art; National Gallery of Australia and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.