Joy Wongatina Pazabeto Madada

Koza (string bag) 2018

Joy Wongatina Pazabeto Madada is a master weaver from Lengatura village in Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. She primarily uses the knotting and weaving techniques she learnt at a young age, and is passionate about maintaining material practices that express cultural and gender identity, such as the making of koza (string bags), which are considered symbols of Choiseul womanhood. By combining innovative patterns and colours with traditional natural fibres and nylons, Madada engages a younger generation in preserving customary techniques, knowledge and forms.