Gallery visit: Filipe Tohi at Fresh Gallery

Gallery visit: Filipe Tohi at Fresh Gallery/Otara, Manukau city

Color and contrast
A solo exhibition by Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi
20, Mar - 11 Apr., 2009
Last week we missed the visit for Fresh Gallery because it was closed. I visited there again this Tuesday(6, Mar).
After the introduction with details about Filipe Tohi’s art works from gallery staff, Nicole Lim, I finally understood about the artist’s background and the creative ideas about his artworks.

Filipe Tohi was born in Tonga and migrated to New Zealand in 1978, at the age of nineteen. Filipe lives and works in New Plymouth were several of his sculptures can be seen. He became a full time artist / sculptor since 1990. He works with a wide variety of media from wood, stone, steel and Perspex.
Last year, he experimented to work with acrylic painting s and a series of “haukulasi”(flatten lalava in wool)
In Fresh Gallery, there are 11 art works showing. 5 acrylic paintings and 6 Haukulasi. I was fascinated to the geometric patterns with abstract creative art forms. With the combination of square , triangle with contrast colors and the volume with illusion and lines. Those are modern representation of identity of contemporary arts.

What’s the meaning of Haukulasi?
Haukulasi is a practice invented by Tohi which uses traditional Tongan techniques(lalava) to create a new form using wool.
What’s the meaning of “Lalava”?
Lalava is also known as Haukafa. It is a traditional binding methods,made with sannit(coconut fiber).
The lalava is usually done with two colors-black and natural. Lashing is traditionally with the two colors-however , it is traditional binding with either one or two colors of coconut fiber.

Comparison 2 different series of Filipe Tohi’ s art works including acrylic painting and Haukulasi in the gallery. I like Haukulasi rather than his paintings although the vivid modern colors. Haukulasi looks so modern with fine designs and precision of lashing with the media of wool made 3 dimension to bind with particle board. The lalava patterns implied his Polynesian background. The contrast of 2 colors coming with squares and lines represent a balance patterns like the traditional Tongan life philosophy. I stared the squares,one by one, each square is like a small world with the mass of layers and lines. It’s un-touchable to the bottom (source) of each world. The depth and width of ancient culture. He is the only one modern artist with traditional art form of lalava.
“My work transforms the technology of the past into a modern representation of identity and experience. By using the patterns established by lalava. I express a dynosian heritage with metaphors for that speak to the entire community. -written by Filipe Tohi.

www.tantai.org/sopolemalama-fillipe-tohi/
http://www.lalava.net/

According to Nicole Lim’s introduction, there are some metal work projects by Tohi in New Zealndn and overseas. One in Tepapa museum in Wellington, one(coming together ) in Onehunga community center and library 2004, and one in New Plymouth.

Field trip to Polyfest 2009

Field trip to Polyfest 2009

"Many Cultures, One World" - "Nga tikanga-a-iwi o te ao whanui" - "E tele aganu'u ae tasi lava le lalolagi" -" ‘Oku tau taha pe neongo ‘oku tau kau ki he ngaahi matakali kehekehe" - “ Kehekehe e tau aga Faka-Motu, ka e taha e lalolagi” - "E mànganui te àkono’anga, 'okota'i rai ao"

The 2009 ASB Polyfest held over four days, from 18th to 21st Mar., 2009. In its 34 year, it’s expected over 9000 students and 85,000 people to go to south Auckland for the popular annual event. Poly fest is considered one of the biggest festival of its kind in the world. The event had 59 schools and close to 200 cultural groups involved in the cultural performance and speech making.
There are five performance stages(Maori, Cook Island, Niue, Samoan & Tonga) The Festival is proudly hosted by Wesley College at the Manukau Sportsbowl
by http://www.asbpolyfest.co.nz/

When we reached there, I was so surprised with a lot of people, most are Polynesian people, gathering over there. 1st stage we went is a competition performance(MIT) which some college students were singing and dancing tradition Polynesian performance on the stage. They were singing and dancing for the joy, not only for the competition. I was so touched and exciting for the atmosphere with happiness and respect for the culture. The feeling is just like I went to the temple fair in my country when I was a child. People gathered in front of the temple for the celebration of Buddhist or God birthday. Enjoyed the food and watched the performance (
Taiwanese opera, or traditional puppy play) on the stage which was built in front of temple. The stage standing in front of temple is because that’s someone donated and sacrificed for God. And God shares the show for the public. It became a kind of community art activity.
I thought of the word of “social sculpture” which we just learned from the lesson.
The phase created by Joseph Beuys. For Beuys social sculpture implied that art could alter society.

People gatherning becoming a kind of art activity. People became the art work, and everyone involved became the artist. It’s my great honor to be one of artists participating in the field of the Poly Festival.

"Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives" Joseph Beuys

www.socialsculptureforum.com.au/index.html

Second impressions at Te Tuhi

Second impressions at Te Tuhi-after doing some research on at least one of the artists involved
Last Saturday, I visited Te Tui Center again.
First thing, I checked the keyboard to prove it’s really workable for information searching. I was cheated last time and thought it as a “fake” thing.
After viewing all the “fake” art works,
I was impressed by Glen Hayward’s art works. The items such as cardboard box, fire extinguishers, plastic chair, painting equipments those are all hand made by wood. It’s interesting that he made the everyday stuffs with quite different material as usual. The most real-like art work is the cardboard box. It’s very successful as playing a character of “fake” in this exhibition. I did close inspection to prove it’s really “fake” in fact. The texture of surface is almost the same with paper-made. The folding cover is similar to an usual one from a cardboard box. Finally, I still recognized that those are all out of wood. Hayward’s sculpture are making joke with the viewer. It became a relationship about a game between the artist and the audience. We all involved and participated into the art form. Those art works seem to invite us to try to touch, hold or sit on them. If I sit on the plastic chair, I, myself, might become an art and add into Hayward’s sculpture. Can I say the work is a performace art? It’s a form of conceptual art. Thinking of it as art. Hayward’s pieces remind me that we see and think the world by our preconceptions. When the shape or material changed, we will see it as “fake’ or unacceptable.
It also remind me about Marcel Duchamp’s art work Fountain in 1917.It’s a readymade urinal. Duchamp changed it by 90 degree angle, and called it as the name of “Fountain”.
He had renovated the art form. A conceptual art. Fountain is regarded the most influential artwork of the 20 th century.