Faraimo Paulo — Navigators of Polynesia

Faraimo Paulo is a self-taught Tokelauan artist of remarkable depth and vision, born on Atafu Island, Tokelau, and raised in Vaimoso, Samoa. One of eight siblings, Faraimo's gift for art emerged early — by the age of six or seven, he was already producing work that stood apart from his peers in primary school. Without ever attending a formal art school, he developed a powerful and distinctive visual language rooted in memory, legend, and a profound love for his Pacific heritage.

His artistic journey took a defining turn at seventeen, when a visiting yachtsman discovered his work in Tokelau and purchased his paintings — the first time Faraimo understood that art could be a vocation as much as a calling. From that moment, he committed himself fully to his practice.

In 1977, Faraimo was awarded a scholarship to New Zealand, where he studied under master carver Paratene at a community college in Napier. Exposure to Māori carving traditions broadened his visual vocabulary and deepened his respect for indigenous art forms across the Pacific. During the 1980s, he worked at the National Art Gallery in Wellington, where he handled works by some of the world's most celebrated artists — Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Cézanne, and Gauguin — an experience he credits as one of the most formative of his artistic life. He later worked for the Museum of New Zealand and taught art at Samoa College in 1981.

Faraimo's work spans painting, stamp and coin design — including official designs for Tokelau — and sits at a unique crossroads between the Old Masters and the modern tradition. He cites Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael alongside Cézanne, Gauguin, and Picasso as central influences, and considers his own art to occupy the creative space between these two worlds. His compositions are marked by strong, deliberate outlines — a technique rooted in the Tokelauan legend of Hina and the Kea, the turtle goddess associated with tattoo, fish, and shell motifs that now appear throughout Pacific art and culture. His paintings are entirely imagination-driven, drawn from memory and an enduring emotional connection to the landscapes, people, and traditions of his island home.

Family is at the heart of Faraimo's work. His own children and loved ones appear throughout his paintings, which he describes as living members of his family — a reason he finds it deeply difficult to part with them. Each work represents not only hours of careful craftsmanship but a sustained act of remembrance and love.

His current and ongoing exhibition series, Eleni: Navigators of Polynesia, is named in honour of his late wife, Eleni, who passed away from cancer. Together they had planned the series before her death, and Faraimo has continued it as both a tribute to her memory and a celebration of the wider Polynesian world. The title carries a dual meaning: the personal — a man navigating life and loss — and the collective — a people navigating the future. Despite facing the challenges of a small population, environmental pressures, and the passage of time, Polynesian culture continues to produce extraordinary individuals across art, sport, and community life.

 

Eleni: Navigators of Polynesia is Faraimo's invitation to his people, and to the world, to come together, to remember, and to move forward.

 

Faraimo Paulo is proudly represented by McCarthy Gallery since 2023

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Biography researched and written by Fono McCarthy, Independent Curator and Director, McCarthy Gallery.