Page 36 - IB March 2025

Art Art

FROM TEACHING TO TONGPOP

THE ARTISTIC JOURNEY OF TELLY TUITA

By Ema Ganivatu and Aisha Azeemah 20-year-old,” he said.
Photos by Samantha Magick Tuita taught art for several years before
deciding to shift gear and retrain in a
For a few weeks in January, the ‘Thirsty Mile’ on Sydney’s different field of education. “I went back
harbour was a riot of colour and Tongan iconography. to Sydney University and did a master’s in
It was the work of Tongan-Australian artist Telly Tuita, who special education,” he recalls. “I worked
brought his captivating show ‘The Tā and Vā of Tongpop’ to Tongan-Australian with children with behavioural issues,
the Sydney Festival. artist Telly Tuita autism, and intellectual disabilities. I was
even a deputy principal at a behavioural school.
The man behind the marvels “I’ve had some students who are now working professionally
Born 1980 in Tonga, Tuita’s early life was shaped by the in the art world,” he said, “whether it’s teachers,
shifting tides of personal challenges and cultural change. administrators or an artist even. So, it’s cool, you know,
“I was born in Tonga and sent to Australia in 1989,” he seeing that happen for the next generation of artists.”
tells Islands Business. The move certainly opened a new
world to the 9-year-old, a world bigger than the villages in The boy who needed to express himself
his homeland, and a world in which he has now practiced his Despite his success as an educator, Tuita’s passion for art
craft for over 20 years. remained. “I’ve always made art, even as a kid,” he shared.
But as is the case for so many artists, while art may feed When prompted to share his earliest memory of creating
the soul, one needs a day job to feed the stomach. art resembling his current work, Tuita said: “Honestly, I
“I was a teacher in Sydney for 15 years,” Tuita reflects. “I superglued all these cars on top of each other, my toy cars.
went and studied fine arts when I left high school in Sydney, That was pretty weird and arty, not realising at the time that
but I didn’t pursue it after. it was. I remember that.”
“I was sort of working class, I suppose you could say. So, I The culture shock for that little boy perhaps subtly fed the
didn’t really grow up with artists or, you know, really even art need for a creative outlet when he moved to Sydney.
itself in that career sense. I was encouraged by my uncle and “I didn’t go to school in Tonga, really. So, it wasn’t really
auntie who adopted me. I call them mum and dad. But also, until I got to Australia in ‘89 that I started school, when I was
because I wanted to live in Sydney and, you know, I couldn’t suddenly in year three, I suppose. And I didn’t speak English.
afford to live in Sydney if I was practicing art full-time as a So, for me, it was not really about learning the classes at

36 Islands Business, March 2025