Page 37 - IB March 2025

Art Art

school, it was learning the freaking language. For Tuita, this fusion symbolises the two sides of his
“I think that the biggest thing that hit my consciousness, identity.
my eyes, when I moved to Australia as a kid was colour,” he “It’s very representative of me. I always feel like there’s
recalls. two sides to me. There’s the Tonga and the pop and it’s
“And all these bright neon lights. It was going from Tonga literally that, you know, the little boy that was there in Tonga
where it was very different in the late 80s, there’s one TV in and then the me here now,” he said.
the village that people crowd around. It was a common story At the Sydney Festival, Tuita dressed the historic SS John
throughout Tonga. Oxley steamship in ta’ovala manafau (dancing skirt) and
“So, then you can imagine how it felt when I got to kiekie (waist ornament), as well as flags, ribbons and fabric.
Australia - all the bright lights. I mean, my first meal in Inside historic wharfside buildings, he created glittered,
Sydney was KFC. I remember the white and red. And that’s fluttering installations and video montages. Another area
also part of the reason why I found objects and natural housed a children’s interactive space where kids could wind
materials when I first started, I’d always sort of made art with their way through ten rooms populated by building blocks,
whatever I had around.” swings and woven playgrounds: spaces created by Tuita and
public art experts, Amigo & Amigo.
The artist who brought the world Tongpop “Art is my way of expressing the complexities of my
After moving to Wellington, New Zealand, for a new cultural identity,” Tuita emphasised. “I draw inspiration from
relationship, Tuita made a pivotal decision: “It was around the Pacific patterns I grew up with, and I want my work to
2017 or 2018 when I decided to practice art full-time. No resonate with others, both locally and internationally.”
more teaching. I had to dedicate myself fully to my art.” The appeal of Tuita’s Tongpop style is the meeting of bright
This decision led to the birth of his unique aesthetic: colour, found materials, glamour, Tongan symbolism, and the
Tongpop. This term, which blends “Tonga” and “pop”, reflects whimsy of childhood; the coming together of two cultural
Tuita’s deep connection to his roots and his love for pop art. spheres will strike the heart of any contemporary Pacific
“Tongpop didn’t come out of nowhere,” he explained. “It’s Islander who stands between two worlds.
literally Tonga and pop. Tonga because I think in almost every From a young Tongan boy mesmerised by the lights of a city
artwork that I make, there’s always a little love letter to to an experienced practitioner sharing his identity through his
Tonga, you know. And then pop just because pop art is how I craft, Telly Tuita’s journey as an artist continues before the
started to love art as a teenager,” Tuita says of his style. proud eyes of the Pacific region.

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