Ululau Ama: The next Fatu Feu’u of Pacific art with an extraordinary mother by his side

I was five years old when my mother interviewed renowned Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u.

She came home with a signed Feu’u print in royal blue that we hung together in the living room - our very first piece of art.

Twenty-seven years later life led me directly to Feu’u when I took the helm of Tautai - an arts trust he founded the same year of my birth.

To say I am an admirer (a believer) of his work is an understatement.

Imagine my breathless joy in discovering the paintings of 29-year-old Ululau Ama, a son of Samoa, who like Feu’u seems to inhabit the vā recreating an unseeable realm in bright strokes.

News of Ululau has been circulating around the motu since winning a prominent arts award last year, and with a growing list of collectors including local politicians – his star is on the rise.

Ululau’s early life was touch and go – he was born at Moto’otua Hospital in Apia and had meningitis at three months old before being diagnosed with epilepsy.

'Sina' by Ululau Ama.

His mother Maununu Ama saw the gift of her son despite, chimes of valea and ma’i.

“The person he is – with a disability – in Samoa we have a lot of them, and they should be recognised and supported to progress in life,” says Maununu.

“When Ululau was very little, playing with other kids, he would come home to me before he had a seizure. He would just know and come back to have a sleep.

“One day he was looking at two women then he drew one and told me it was his aunty – that’s when I knew. He could look at somebody and draw them, their whole body.”

'On the Road Again Toe Malaga Foi' by Ululau Ama.

Maununu moved with her family to New Zealand in search of a different life and has been bringing Ululau to Māpura Studios in Auckland over the last few years, in the beginning mother and son attended art therapy classes with other creatives who have epilepsy. Over time Maununu has become a collaborator with her son and an artist of unfurling wonder in her own right.

“We do a lot of collaborations together now, sometimes he says he’s finished a painting, but I feel, it’s not finished – and he’ll tell me keep going then – and I finish the art. When somebody asks us what is this? Depending on the artwork, many are drawn from deep within, without us knowing what it is. Sometimes it can make us happy and make me cry.”

At Māpura Studios, Ululau is surrounded by kindred spirits, artists with special needs and extraordinary abilities creating everything from poetry to dance to fine arts and beyond.

Director Diana McPherson and Communications Manager John Ferriss are effusive in their support for Ululau and his peers who have an exhibition Māpura Studios on now called Colours of the Climate: our responses to the everchanging world on now at The Arts House Trust through to the end of October.

During my interview, I barely locked eyes with Ululau but caught warm sideways smiles while his mother pulled out work after work - inviting me to run my hands over textured movements of paint, like smooth scars beneath my fingers.

The pair are hoping to hold a solo show together soon and to keep exploring their connection as artists. Maununu hopes for a publication of all of Ululau’s existing works, of which there are many.

“When I come here to Māpura for class I’m really tired, my mind is back at home but once I’m with him doing art I really change,” says Maununu.

“I start smiling, I laugh right through – I guide him, that’s when I start to feel happy, and I forget all my problems.

“When Ululau is doing his artwork, we seem to inspire each other, he really likes to be here - and to be free.”

You can follow Māpura Studios here and see some of Ululau and Maununu’s work currently on display here.