FILIPE TOHI

Bio:

Filipe Tohi was born in Ngeleia, Tonga in 1959.   After emigrating to New Zealand at the age of 18 he set about learning all facets of art making. Drawing, painting, photography, and sculpture were gradually perfected through self-practice. As a adult, a chance comment sent him back to Tonga to apprentice with Tamale, one of the last Tufunga Lalava in Tonga. Lalava is the ancient art of sennit lashing-an art form that was both beautiful and functional. It was an intrinsic component in daily life, used for canoes, fishhooks, adzes, and houses. The patterns created by weaving two colors of sennit rope were part of a larger aesthetic vocabulary that communicated elements of cultural heritage. Mastering lalava brought a new perspective and moved his art into a different, minimalist genre that concentrated on sculpture in a scale not seen in traditional island cultures.

Recent years have brought Tohi to Samoa, Cook Islands, Japan, France, Lithuania and the US to explore his work based on lashing patterns.   His studio is in New Plymouth, Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand.

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