For artist Feauina Eves, painting is deeply connected to place, ancestry and memory.

Her latest work, Nature’s Code, draws from her Samoan heritage and the lineage of her father, weaving together symbols of the ocean, traditional tapa cloth, navigation and the natural world.

“My dad’s Samoan, and it’s all about the lineage,” Feauina explains.

The work takes visual cues from the patterns and language of Samoan tapa cloth, with small triangular forms representing fish in the ocean. Etched fish and net-like markings reference the traditional ways of fishing and a life shaped by the sea.

When Feauina visited Samoa, she recalls seeing young boys heading out before sunrise in hand-carved wooden canoes, returning from the ocean with the day’s catch.

“They’d come out of the ocean with their food for the day, walking down the street with the fish hanging off the branches, pretty much.”

These memories sit within Nature’s Code, alongside small porthole-like forms that reference the sun, moon and elements of nature.

There is also a strong sense of navigation within the work. Historically, Polynesian voyagers navigated vast stretches of ocean without compasses or maps, reading the stars to find their way.

“On the island, they were driven by the stars. There were no compasses or maps or anything. They were just looking at the stars.”

For Feauina, this becomes another connection to history, ancestry and the ocean. The colours within the work are also drawn from the traditional palette of Samoan tapa cloth, bringing together the visual language of her heritage with her own contemporary artistic practice.

Her relationship with painting, however, began long before Nature’s Code.

Feauina has painted on and off since she was a young child, alongside a 25-year career in design. For many years, painting remained a personal practice and creative outlet, pursued intuitively alongside her professional career.

Around ten years ago, she began selling her tapa cloth-inspired feather works through Kira & Kira. Life then took over, and painting moved into the background before she returned to it more seriously in recent years.

Two years ago, Feauina invested in mentorship with artists Llewellyn Skye, based on the Gold Coast, and Deni Rayneau, based in Sydney. Through twleve-month mentorships and on-going residencies with both artists, she developed her technical skill while reconnecting with her own artistic voice.

“It’s brought me back to understanding my painting skill set and just everything about it.”

But for Feauina, painting is about more than the act of creating.

“It’s a bit of a spiritual thing for me too. It grounds me.”

That sense of grounding is closely tied to her father, who passed away around ten years ago. Through painting, Feauina feels a renewed connection to him and to the heritage he passed down.

“When I paint, it’s me. It’s my time. It is literally me.”

“I feel him. I really do feel his space. I feel like he’s there guiding me.”

This sense of connection is at the heart of Nature’s Code. While the work draws on traditional symbols and memories of Samoa, Feauina’s approach remains intuitive and deeply personal.

“I just paint very intuitively.”

The result is a body of work that brings together nature, memory, lineage and contemporary expression. A visual language shaped by the ocean and the stars, by the patterns of tapa cloth, and by the enduring connection between an artist and her ancestry.

Nature’s Code is not simply a reflection on heritage. It is Feauina’s way of carrying it forward.