Paula has been carving since he was a young boy in Fulaga, in the Lau Islands of Fiji. Fulaga is known throughout Fiji for its long tradition of highly-skilled wood carvers. Paula's father was a carver, and Paula learnt how to carve tanoa, war clubs and figures from watching him.

He moved to Suva in 1965 and continued carving, this time for the tourist markets on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. He was invited to the Oceania Centre by Epeli Hau'ofa in 1998 to explore contemporary, creative wood carving. His first solo exhibition, in 2001, was well received and from then on he brought his own creativity to his carving.

At first his ideas came from books and conversations with Epeli, and he created animals and figures linked into a single form. Now, the ideas come from his own mind and he finds that the more he imagines creative sculptures, the more ideas he has. He does not see this contemporary style as breaking away from the traditional styles of Fulaga, but rather that he is the new generation of Fulaga carver. Instead of breaking away, he is creating just one more aspect of carving and he continues to carve the traditional forms as well.

As the first Fijian to work in these contemporary forms, he sees himself as opening up opportunities to others and hopes that his example will help to stop the loss of carving in Fiji. He shares both the traditional and the contemporary carving with his son and grandson, so as to continue the carving tradition in his family.

Paula has exhibited widely, including at the Fijian Cultural Craft Fair in Suva, Fiji (1986) where he won 1st prize; at the 40th anniversary of the South Pacific Commission in Noumea, New Caledonia (1987); and at the Fiji Arts Council (2002) where he won 1^st prize.

Source: http://www.usp.ac.fj/?10577