The Unlucky, Lucky Kids

My grandfather once said that when they moved to western countries, our elders left the colourful life back in the islands. I’m trying to bring the colour back.

 

When I think of colour, I think of brown and how brown is beautiful. Brown is excellent. Brown is tough. Brown is strong. All things that come to mind when making my approach to my work. And being an artist that that is so heavily intrenched in his hood and his culture, I feel that it is only right to create conviction for the unfamiliar and comfort for the familiar. This is evident in be my art practice which looks at the difference between an outsider's perspective, and a residence’s perspective, especially that of the great South Auckland.

 

As an artist, I am interested in challenging perspectives and through this aim to celebrate my Hood, what is real to us and what makes us unique. In this case, the depiction of my area, my peers and giving a glimpse to a brighter picture of S.A is crucial. My practice shows that by peeling back the negative layer that overshadows the south, you would see what ultimately is seen by every South Auckland resident. There is beauty in the struggle. Taking cues renowned oil paint artists such as Kehinde Wiley and Jordan Casteel, using spray paint and oil paint I tackled this concept with a direct focus on conveying my peers in a new light and by merging cartoonish and realistic styles I was able to create work that spoke for me.

 

I look back at when I was a youngster reading comic books and thought about how there were no Pasifika superheroes. But growing up in the concrete jungle, we learn quickly that we are the heroes of our own stories, and this is shown in my work by conveying overlooked characters of my community as figures of power and significance. Growing up in S.A, I was exposed to the unique blend of Street Culture and Polynesian Culture which ultimately influenced my style of art which is a reflection of my unique upbringing. In terms of the colour, lettering and style, it is reminiscent of the graffiti scene in the hood, and I have made the play to incorporate more of those graffiti elements in my work, with a large focus on colour and allowing other influences of hip hop cover art and street/Polynesian culture shine through each stroke of my paint brush.

 

One of the many Samoan proverbs that I often heard growing up was “O lupe sa. Vao ese’ese, ae ua fuifui fa’atasi”. This can translate to “We. Are from different parts of the forest, but are connected as one”, and this is what I hope to keep showing in my work as I move forward and continue to put on for my home. For us, those like us, and those that came before us.