Fire Horse, Silkscreen on high density PVC, 2012
Samuel Tupou is a Cairns based artist with a specialty in screenprinting. Tupou’s practice reflects contemporary dilemmas of cultural identity, Westernization and immigration. Through the re-invention and repetition of found imagery from Western popular culture, and the use of industrial materials, Tupou creates new narratives which portray both personal and shared histories.
Having a part Togan, part Polynesian heritage, Tupou creates patterns derived from and inspired by traditional Pacific Island Tapa cloth design. His artwork utilizes printed imagery salvaged from mass media and utilitarian sources. Tupou’s work is a unique mix of old, new and re-used imagery set against vivid and seductive colours evocative of Northern Queensland.
