John Siune is related by marriage to Mathias Kauage and the cousin of Apa Kauage, a fellow artist. He started full time painting in 1985. John Siuneʼs major theme is the alienation of tribal society by urban influences. His painting, published in Harpers Magazine August 1996, shows armed police chasing tribal men who have stolen money. A helicopter hovers overhead. Another painting shows a tribal woman. Half of the woman is in tribal costume, the other half in Western dress. He has paintings in Australian Galleries, and a large painting in the Art Museum in Noumea.