Everything and Nothing

Solo exhibition by Tony Tia.

Tony is a Melbourne-based visual artist originally from Auckland, New Zealand and Samoa. As a multimedia artist Tony combines drawing, painting, photography, graphic design and video art to produce works strongly influenced by science fiction, retro futurism, astronomy, and commercial art from 1940s, 50s, 80s and 90s.

He is also inspired by modernism, surrealism and the geometric patterns of Polynesian tattoo designs. His art is a reflection of his upbringing in a western country by immigrant Samoan parents and the struggles of not quite fitting into his cultural heritage nor the contemporary western environment he finds himself in. All in all, these elements have converged to inform Tony’s creative process and practice and guide his expression as an artist.

This show is a culmination of works Tony has generated in his recent years in Melbourne. In this time, he has developed an interest in creating geometric designs inspired by the forms of Samoan Tatau that have always fascinated him growing up. Tony uses these forms and traditional patterns as a point of departure, adding elements of sci-fi, surrealism, modernism and post-modernism to create a surrealist world that sits left of center.

“It is a world in my head inspired by everyday life but existing somewhere out there in the ether. Ultimately like any artist, I'm just trying to make sense of my place in this world by taking everything I love and regurgitating it for the world to see.”