Hip-hop

BLVD Gallery presents TIKKKI New works by Iosefatu Sua and Darvin Vida July 13 – August 4, 2007 Artist Reception Luau Friday July 13 6pm – 10pm BLVD Gallery 2316 2nd ave Seattle Wa 98121

BLVD Gallery is proud to present TIKKKI, a show of new works by Iosefatu Sua and Darvin Vida that is a view of tikki culture from an authentic Pacific island perspective. The imagery for “TIKKKI” will revolve around the use of shameful imagery from Americas past wed with a Polynesian aesthetic to challenge and bring into sharp focus the disparity between reality and Tiki culture. Artist Iosefatu Sua first conceived of this concept as a response to what he viewed as a skewed and often condescending ideal of Island culture that is presented as “Tiki Culture”. Iosefatu desired to create a body of work that would expose the racial fetishism and cultural misappropriation that Exotica represents with its view of Pacific Islanders as Noble Savages and hyper sexualized Hula girls. These caricatures have nothing to do with the harsh reality of the rampant poverty and loss of culture in Islander communities and serve to perpetuate these circumstances by removing the focus on real people and supplanting the proud traditions with Kitsch and cocktails.

Iosefatu Sua’s fascination with art was inspired mostly by the rebelliousness and bright colors of graffiti/urban art; an art form he first discovered as a young boy while riding his BMX bike through the city streets of Wellington, New Zealand. Sua’s Samoan born parents were immigrants who worked several jobs to keep him and his brother away from the impoverished neighborhoods, which were populated by the local natives and Polynesian immigrants. His works mostly consist of sculpture, painting, and installation. By mixing a variety of cultural and mythological iconography and storytelling, Iosefatu explores personal insecurities, fears, and frustrations influenced by social and cultural stigmas such as poverty, immigration, and criminalization.

For Darvin Vida art started because of the refusal of his Mother to constantly draw the Black Tiger Squadron fighter plane from StarBlazers. From that point on he realized he could do drawings for himself. His early years started off tracing Captain America comic books and GI Joe Characters. In the late eighties Darvin was shown a poloroid photo of graffiti from San Diego that sparked off a whole new direction for his creativity. Today Darvin mixes these early influences with the cultural art that reflects his Filipino heritage. Darvin Roca Vida works with a wide variety of techniques, which include: sculpting, painting, carving, etching, and printing.

For more info about these artists: contact Damion Hayes (BLVD Gallery Director) damion at blvdart . com