OPEN COMMUNITY PROJECTS
ThinWalls Studio is designed to facilitate my connection with the community through art. If you have ideas, suggestions, projects, or a desire to figure out how to connect what you are doing, please reach out. Below is an example of an ongoing project that has been completed at different locations and iterations based on the needs of the partnership. It can be adapted and repeated or may act as an example of potential ways to connect.
ThinWalls Studio is designed to facilitate my connection with the community through art. If you have ideas, suggestions, projects, or a desire to figure out how to connect what you are doing, please reach out. Below is an example of an ongoing project that has been completed at different locations and iterations based on the needs of the partnership. It can be adapted and repeated or may act as an example of potential ways to connect.
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OFA ‘ATU is a painting series and screen printing/storytelling community art project inspired by my own personal experiences living in the South Pacific Islands of Tonga. Community participants get to see and discuss the paintings, hear my story and share their own, and learn about the screen-printing process, printing their own skipjack tuna (Atu) to take home. The project has been repeated in several different iterations and locations and can be adapted to a variety of needs.
What is Provided:
Artist Statement for OFA ‘ATU:
I was a teenager living on a small island in Tonga when a man named Hiko called hundreds of skipjack tuna to him. Hiko was taught by his father to call the fish a tradition reaching back to the youngest son of the first Tui Tonga. Hiko’s father taught him that to call the ‘Atu (skipjack tuna) in times of need there would be rules both he and the people would have to follow. The rules centered on only taking what they needed, not selling the fish for personal gain, and sharing the fish with those in need. If broken then he would not be able to call the fish again until the people had changed their hearts.
For 21 years Hiko was able to call to the ‘Atu and the people in his village followed the rules. Then one day Hiko went out and called the fish, people took more than they needed and sold them, they broke the rules, and I was there. As a result, Hiko said it would be a long time before he could call the fish again.
I have never questioned what I saw and ate. I believe Hiko learned when and how to call those fish. What has impacted me the most from this experience are the rules he taught. In Tongan Ofa ‘Atu means “I Love You”. The fish ‘Atu became a symbol for the type of love created when people care for each other. The rules Hiko taught were about how we care and build each other up, particularly in times of need. In my series OFA ‘ATU I use my paintings and help the community make prints to tell this story and ask what was gained or lost by following the rules Hiko taught. I have long since left Tonga and Hiko’s village but I see places in my life where parallels exist and the equivalent of the ‘Atu are all around.
What is Provided:
- With each project I have several paintings that I have created to help me tell my story and introduce the concept of OFA ‘ATU.
- Table top screen-printing set (this includes the screen, press system, squeegees, ink palette knives, ink, and clean up materials)
- Sometimes, I am able to find donated paper but I may need help getting paper people can print on.
Artist Statement for OFA ‘ATU:
I was a teenager living on a small island in Tonga when a man named Hiko called hundreds of skipjack tuna to him. Hiko was taught by his father to call the fish a tradition reaching back to the youngest son of the first Tui Tonga. Hiko’s father taught him that to call the ‘Atu (skipjack tuna) in times of need there would be rules both he and the people would have to follow. The rules centered on only taking what they needed, not selling the fish for personal gain, and sharing the fish with those in need. If broken then he would not be able to call the fish again until the people had changed their hearts.
For 21 years Hiko was able to call to the ‘Atu and the people in his village followed the rules. Then one day Hiko went out and called the fish, people took more than they needed and sold them, they broke the rules, and I was there. As a result, Hiko said it would be a long time before he could call the fish again.
I have never questioned what I saw and ate. I believe Hiko learned when and how to call those fish. What has impacted me the most from this experience are the rules he taught. In Tongan Ofa ‘Atu means “I Love You”. The fish ‘Atu became a symbol for the type of love created when people care for each other. The rules Hiko taught were about how we care and build each other up, particularly in times of need. In my series OFA ‘ATU I use my paintings and help the community make prints to tell this story and ask what was gained or lost by following the rules Hiko taught. I have long since left Tonga and Hiko’s village but I see places in my life where parallels exist and the equivalent of the ‘Atu are all around.
