Author: Vikatolia

I had little resources to use in order to create transfers so this took me a while to finish. This task really exciting and enjoyed the process of removing the layers of paper. 

For my first transfer I wanted to start off easy  and tried transferring an image onto cardboard first. I didn’t have much to transfer at the time but found a paper with cultural design on it and thought that would be a cool thing to transfer so I used what I had to make the first move and they turned out alright. 

For my second transfer I decided I wanted to be more creative with it and give the piece a theme. The theme I selected was the aesthetic of South Auckland. By the time I made this I was able to collect newspapers and books to use in this piece. There are about 5 image transfers on the page and I also decided to add paint and random designs in some areas where the page was blank to make the page more full.

For the final transfer I used a rag I found lying around the house. I found two twin images of a kitten and decided to use those two images to transfer onto the piece of cloth. I thought it would be cooler if i added parts of a newspaper article on the sides as it looked pretty blank. The rag was a different kind of material so I was unsure if it would work but it was a success.

I am a bit delayed for my first ever post on this blog because of technical difficulties but I have attached my own form of iterative art. The recurring theme for these three pieces are the beauty of the Tongan patterns and culture. I’ve decided to create a few pieces on this subject as I find these few things about my heritage fascinating and was also able to find a relation to the task subject through Tongan patterns. 

Before starting the pieces I needed to do a bit of research on this form of art as I had never heard of it or attempted this type of work before. But as I started to get an understanding I found that the biggest idea of the iteration process is to focus more on comparing and contrasting between a range of repeated drawings/patterns to create one piece. Doing this allowed the piece of art to become more technical as if the artist is growing in technique. I began my art by starting off with two simple patterns commonly used in the Tongan and Samoan culture used in the design of Tapa cloths. The first design is called a Manulua, and is a very old pattern which indicates either a flower motif or a bird motif. In my second piece I decided to use more patterns and create a more technical piece of work used in Tapa cloths. The designs I used for this piece are different forms of the Tokelau Feletoa, Matahihifi and the Kaloli design.  And for my last piece I wanted to do a longer landscape wise, also a design which is repetitive and unique and that you will commonly find on every Tapa cloth and it is based on the Tokelau Feletoa. I added different forms of the Longolongo design and the Amoamokofe design.

I’ve always wanted to create art in relation to my culture, so I thought this would be a great place to start. I really enjoyed creating these few pieces. I believe I was able to embrace the Polynesian culture through these artworks. I hope you are able to find interest in these artworks.