Three Marys 2010 (2023)

The indefatigable Anthony Carthew organised the show at the Sydney Opera House. Some considered it sacrilege that we were dressed as three Marys with the bleeding heart but it was water off these ducks' backs and I'll tell you why.

I was born and raised in the Mormon Church. I grew up meeting all the usual milestones, like baptism, priesthood, temple, Mormon high school (Church College, Hamilton, NZ), endowment (Templeview, Hamilton, NZ), two-year mission abroad (Boise Idaho Mission), and Mormon University (BYU, Hawaii).

I was serving in the Bishopric (lay member counselor to a lay preacher, called a bishop) when I was asked to counsel a woman whom I had known since childhood. I felt uncomfortable having to offer guidance and comfort when I had my own demons to deal with.

Earlier in that same summer, I had had my first gay sexual encounter. The guilt from that and the burden of hypocrisy I felt whilst counselling a good friend in an ecclesiastical position of counsellor was overpowering. A few days later, I was on a plane home from Hawaii back to Auckland. I had decided that the Church had to be all true or, if one thing were false, then not true at all.

I left the Church. Many Fa'afafine have been treated unkindly in the name of religion. Only recently are we starting to be documented in any meaningful way. Not just in academia but in popular culture as well. Our Tagata Pasifika Eaten Alive show is available on YouTube.

I am still respectful of the Church and the role it plays in my family's lives. I still attend the funerals of my beloved aunties and uncles and happily sing the hymns at the top of my vast lungs. My aiga are strong in LMS/Presbyterian, Catholic and Lotu Momona (Mormon) religions. I honour that right.

'Three Marys 2010' (2023) by Yuki Kihara.
Plastic doll, fabric and mixed media. 340mm (H) x 390mm (W).
Dolls created for BERTHA (2023) in Paradise Camp an exhibition by Yuki Kihara, curated by Natalie King. Commissioned by Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Courtesy of Yuki Kihara and Milford Galleries, Aotearoa New Zealand. Photos: Gui Taccetti.