63 x 50 cm
My history (personal and cultural) has experienced corresponding instances of love and hate, with villains and heroes both featuring equally – at times self-inflicting destruction, in turn prompting an uncanny skill for survival and renascence. Underneath all the razzle dazzle, I continue to push the capacity and complexity of my work, always telling a story, of us, of them, of it, of you and me - after all, isn’t it all autobiographical in the end?
Opening Speakers:
Jeremy Hansen, Marketing Project Manager, Britomart
Telly Tuita, Artist
Telly Tuita’s self created Tongpop universe is a rich and layered visual cosmos, where the boundaries between mythology, history, and contemporary culture dissolve into a dynamic, ever-expanding narrative. Tuita’s work operates as a collision site, interweaving traditional Tongan cosmology with global pop culture, classical European art history, and speculative futures. His staged tableaux vivants function as intricate allegories, populated by a cast of characters both familiar and unexpected—Greek gods Artemis and Apollo share space with Dora the Explorer, Superman is crowned with the regalia of the Tui Tonga, and classical European landscapes morph into ngatu-infused dreamscapes, imbued with Tongan visual motifs. The omnipresent figure of Hikule’o, the powerful goddess of Pulotu (the Tongan underworld), acts as an anchor within this universe, appearing in multiple guises across his compositions.
At the heart of Tongpop is a passionate interrogation of cultural hybridity and identity in the postcolonial Pacific. Tuita’s work subverts the historical categorization of Oceanic cultures as static or peripheral, instead asserting the Pacific as a space of fluidity, transformation, and agency. His compositions engage with the intersections of family, philosophy, gender, sexuality, war, consumerism, fashion, capitalism, religion, and mass media—an all-encompassing visual drama where no subject is off-limits. In his layered, chaotic yet carefully choreographed worlds, Tuita reveals the absurdities of cultural consumption, the weight of colonial histories, and the resilience of indigenous storytelling. His practice is deeply personal, yet universally resonant; as he states, "art is way more fun than therapy."
Central to Tuita’s practice is his use of found materials—discarded objects that are salvaged, repurposed, and reimagined with an opulent finish. His material choices speak to the complexities of contemporary existence, where the boundaries between the organic and synthetic, the sacred and the profane, are constantly shifting. Tuita’s fascination with mass-produced, plasticized surfaces reflects both an aesthetic and philosophical stance: he embraces the artificial, elevating it through meticulous craftsmanship and embellishment. He states, "the plastic just gets a facelift," signaling a refusal to reject the manufactured world but instead to transform it into something extraordinary.
The act of rescuing and recontextualizing discarded materials aligns with broader themes of reclamation within his work—of history, identity, and representation. By integrating these overlooked elements into his compositions, he constructs a new visual lexicon where nothing is truly abandoned, and everything holds potential for reinvention. His reverence for materials mirrors his approach to storytelling: the past is never lost but continually reshaped, reimagined, and woven into the present.
Tuita’s Tongpop universe exists in a state of hyper-saturation—a maximalist fever dream where history is remixed and remastered through a Pacific lens. His work challenges linear narratives, embracing simultaneity and excess. Visually, his compositions revel in high-gloss surfaces, vibrant color palettes, and an interplay between traditional and digital aesthetics. This deliberate aesthetic overload mimics the chaotic, fragmented nature of contemporary life, where digital screens, advertising, and cultural references constantly collide. His visual language is one of layering and juxtaposition, resisting singular readings in favor of multiplicity and interpretation.
Through Tongpop, Tuita invites audiences into a realm where mythology is not a relic of the past but a living, breathing force that continues to evolve. His work challenges the hierarchies of high and low culture, tradition and modernity, the revered and the disposable. As a visual storyteller, he refuses to adhere to singular definitions of identity or history, instead crafting a space where cultural hybridity is both celebrated and interrogated. By doing so, he asserts that the Pacific is not simply a region to be defined by external narratives but a powerful force in shaping the global cultural landscape—one where the past, present, and imagined futures exist in perpetual dialogue.
