Place and heritage have a tremendous effect on one’s development as a person, and on how we lead our individual lives. History and culture also shape the work of Australian indigenous artist, Alick Tipoti, and New Zealand/Tongan contemporary artist, Sam Tupou. The influence of both cultures is woven through their works. Tipoti’s work displays the immediate visual elements of Torres Strait Island art, whilst Tupou’s melds contemporary street art, Pop culture style and the fundamentals of Tongan printmaking. How has time and place influenced the messages and stories portrayed through each of these artists’ original styles?
Alick Tipoti was born in 1975 on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, north of Cape York Peninsula and south of Papua New Guinea (Queensland Art Gallery). He grew up on Badu Island and from an early age developed a fascination for art of the Torres Strait, re-telling the stories of the past through detailed prints (Howell, 2010). Tipoti’s work is built on and held together by traditional Torres Strait designs, maintaining traditional patterns in order to pass on the stories of the past to today’s generation. Printmaking and material culture throughout the Torres Strait Islands was long marginalised by European settlers, with the entire collection of islands being converted to Christianity by 1880. Among the islanders, this conversion was known as ‘The Coming of the Light’. As the people’s beliefs changed, so did their approach to material culture; specific headdresses and artefacts for unique ceremonies were lost. In fact, it was said that the missionaries on each of the islands forbade the production of traditional Torres Strait symbols and artefacts (Australian Art Print Network).
Through his work Apu Kaz (2008), included in the... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline