About Amanda

Amanda Tomasoa is a painter, storyteller, and community builder whose work bridges imagination, culture, and technology. Through painting, digital art, and immersive virtual worlds, she invites audiences to see not only what is visible but what can be imagined.

Early Impressions

Amanda’s love for drawing began in childhood. She spent hours sketching her favourite character, Astro Boy, simply for the joy of it — captivated by how imagination could come to life on paper. During art class, her classmates often asked her to draw for them, and though she was too shy to say no, those moments revealed how naturally her creativity spoke to others. Her art teacher soon recognised her quiet talent and encouraged her to keep nurturing it — planting a seed that would one day grow into her lifelong artistic journey.

Rediscovery and Growth

I rediscovered my passion for drawing while living in Indonesia in the mid-1990s. At the time, I couldn’t work formally as a Malaysian national, but I found inspiration in my younger sister Diana’s farewell sketches. What began as a way to support my family soon grew into a calling. Within a few years, I was selling drawings and even received commissions from a music producer who turned them into sticker giveaways for cassette tapes.

When I moved to New Zealand in 1999, I focused on building a new life for my family. In 2001 we rented our first home, and by 2002 we were blessed to buy our own house — a place that finally felt like home. Between 2001 and 2004 I worked long hours as a sales consultant, leaving little time for art. Yet the desire to create never stopped calling. Feeling the need to reconnect with my artistic side, I enrolled in a year-long Diploma in Creativity through The Learning Connexion, a distance-learning art school. That experience reignited my passion and gave me the courage to pursue art seriously again, leading to my first exhibition in 2004.

Expanding Horizons

Since that first show, my art has travelled across four continents — from Indonesia and New Zealand to the UK, the US, and Germany. My abstract and figurative works use vibrant colour to explore themes of joy, hope, and connection, while letting me experiment with storytelling in both traditional and digital forms.

Highlights include solo exhibitions in Auckland, international group shows in London, Los Angeles, and Germany, and numerous community projects throughout Aotearoa. My work has been featured in local community papers, international magazines, and on Radio New Zealand, reflecting my belief that art can speak across cultures and languages.

The Virtual Dimension

In 2009, I expanded my creative journey into the virtual world of Second Life®, where I share my work as AmandaT Tamatzui. There, I build immersive installations, host international exhibitions, and develop machinima projects such as Land of Sleeping Giants. My flagship gallery, Manda Vale, connects my art to global audiences in ways that transcend geography — bringing together people who might never meet otherwise.

Today and Beyond

Today, I continue to merge painting, storytelling, and digital creativity. I am preparing for a future exhibition in Aotearoa where I plan to transform some of my 2D works into 3D installations and livestream them into the virtual world.

As part of the Toipoto program and the Franklin art community, I am passionate about collaboration and cultural storytelling. I believe art is a living bridge — one that connects hearts, cultures, and worlds both real and imagined.

Artist’s Reflection

My art is a celebration of resilience — a reminder that imagination can survive every border, every pause, and every beginning again.