$1,040 framed - - black or white box frame with mat
Kupesi Styles I and II Limited edition 10-colour screenprints on BFK Rives Printed at Artrite Screenprinting, Onehunga, Auckland These prints emerge from my long engagement with the visual languages of Tongan fibre practice. In Tonga, the making of textiles such as ngatu (barkcloth) sits at the centre of cultural life, carrying systems of knowledge, symbolism, and social meaning. At the heart of this process is the kupesi, a patterned stencil traditionally constructed from plaited pandanus or coconut midrib, and other plant materials. When fetaʻaki (plain barkcloth) is placed over the kupesi and rubbed with pigment from the koka tree, the underlying design surfaces through the process known as tataʻi. The kupesi establishes the structural framework from which the visual composition of the cloth unfolds.
In Kupesi Styles I and II, I draw on this visual system, translating kupesi patterning through the medium of screenprint. Motifs such as the lion, dove, crown, eagle, and Halley’s Comet appear alongside geometric formations drawn from barkcloth traditions, referencing, in my own way, relationships between cosmology, chiefly authority, and Tongan symbolic language.
Rather than replicating barkcloth directly, these prints explore how kupesi structures can shift across materials and contexts. Through colour, repetition, and modular composition, the works extend the logic of Tongan fibre technologies into contemporary printmaking.
Please allow up to 2-3 weeks for framing in some cases custom framing can take longer.
To quote any other custom framing needs including mats, conservation glass or non reflective glass options please call or get in touchhere.
Please note that some of the framed images online are mockups only and serve only as a representation of the actual framed artwork.
This artwork can be shipped overseas please get in touch here for a shipping quote
