Moana Study IV, 2021 | Afatasi

Freestanding hand-welded steel sculpture by Afatasi featuring layered plant-like and marine forms rising beneath two long curved elements on a rounded metal base. — Layered organic forms rise from the base like marine plants, coral, or an underwater habitat, while two long curved elements sweep upward through the composition. Moana reveals an early sculptural vocabulary of growth, movement, and ocean life that would later develop throughout Afatasi’s Moana Series.

Moana Study IV imagines a fish moving through a dense underwater reef, where layered steel forms become coral, current, and shelter. The sculpture turns the ocean floor into a small, abundant world alive with movement.