Josaia Waqabaca McNamara

An award winning Fijian philosopher-artist with maternal links to Matuku Island in Fiji's eastern province of Lau, Josaia Waqabaca McNamara (b. 1974) has developed an accomplished oeuvre over three decades of work as a contemporary painter.

A mystical confluence of ancient esoteric symbolism and vibrant Fijian motifs, McNamara has exhibited across diverse local and international platforms throughout the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. From his early period interpretations of cave petroglyphs to a prolific body of poetry and written artistic commentary, McNamara's triune creative philosophy is founded on culture, religion, and esoteric spirituality.

McNamara is a self-taught painter, having developed his unique illustrative style after joining the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies (OCAPS) at the University of the South Pacific in 1998. A core member of the Oceania Centre's landmark Red Wave Collective, in 2007 McNamara won the prestigious Commonwealth Arts & Crafts Award, following which he pursued a Master's scholarship in Painting and Design at the Arts Faculty, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

McNamara's Bangladesh residency included in-depth philosophical research on Hindu, Buddhist and regional animist traditions of India and Nepal, each in turn exerting influence on his visual language and contemplative approach to artmaking.

McNamara's work has been selected for three international art biennales, hosted in Tahiti, New Caledonia and Italy respectively, together with eight solo art exhibitions and numerous group shows. In 2015 the University of the South Pacific published The Crown of Wisdom, an art booklet of personal commentaries selected from McNamara's prolific body of written work.

The founder of the Volasiga Collective, and a co-founder of the Viti Association of Visual Arts (VAVA), McNamara resides near the village of Vanuakula, Naitasiri Province, with his family.

Contact for commissions: [email protected]