'Ōfai, Pierre Lune is a first tāpa'o in Senonville stone, part of a series of works with which the artist forges visual links between French Polynesia and the Meuse. This tāpa'o, which can be interpreted as a sign or a memory-helper, materialized here as a sculpture and reveals archetypes that cross the artistic history of humanity. Six blocks superimposed like a mounted piece evoke Neolithic standing stones, ritual totems, tiki, when the engraved and painted motifs are inspired by cave painting, but also the colors, textiles, tattoos and petroglyphs from the history of France and Polynesia. The juxtaposition of the different states of matter, from the rough stone to its shaping, and the attributes which sanctify it (necklace of teeth, fabrics), tell an archaeological story, not linear but also anthropological, colonial. Alive, the work is updated every year at the full moon by a collective ritual shared with the public.
'Ōfai, Pierre Lune is a permanent installation in the Village of Lahaymeix, part of Vent des Forets, Meuse, France.
The work was made possible with the support of Air Tahiti Nui and the Haut-Commissariat de la République en Polynésie Française.