Sam Tupou has crossed the elusive threshold from amateur to artist.

After leaving artist Sam Tupou’s studio following a lengthy conversation, I mentally scold myself. I was so caught up in finding out where Sam’s inspiration stems from and if there was any chance he was related to the Tongan line of Tupou kings (which, by the way, he’s not) that I’d completely forgotten to ask one crucial question – why he chose the life of an artist.

It’s a fairly routine sort of inquiry but one that goes a long way towards deciphering the intricate inner workings of a person who dedicates their life to creating things of beauty for the sake of aesthetics and eternal contemplation.

Fortunately, a quick review of the hour that passed told me all I needed to know.

Entering his studio was the first giveaway. Not merely a site to produce his signature Pop-Art-inspired Perspex works, the artistic space is testament to his intense passion for what he does.

Surrounded by colourful works-in-progress and in his element tripping over discarded silk screens, Sam’s face lights up as he takes me through the demanding process of turning what he calls found imagery or computer images into screen print designs.

Not for the easily distracted, the rigorous routine involves enlarging images on to transparencies before imprinting them on to emulsion-covered screens using a fluorescent light box.

“Once you’ve done it a few times it’s really easy but I still mess them up all the time,” Sam laughs. “You’ve got to get the exposure time right. If you leave it too long it’s hard to hose out the unexposed areas and if not long enough the exposed areas don’t set,” he explains.

The next step, Sam says, is transferring his images on to canvas, or in his case Perspex – a medium he discovered during his early days as one of the founding members of popular art co-operative The Upholstery.

“I wanted to create an artwork that divided the room but that you could still see through,” he says. “Glass was really expensive and really fragile so Perspex seemed the logical thing to use.”

The method stuck and so too his penchant for colourful, multi-layered works, earning him a solid reputation in the industry. 

“Although the kind of ideas and themes behind my work evolve and change I like having the base of my work stay fairly solid,” Sam says. “To do this I use colour, plastic, pattern and screen printing, so there are a few constants. I like having a starting point rather than having something completely polar opposite with each work.”

Using traditional Tapa patterns inspired by his Pacific Island heritage (Sam’s father was from Tonga) has become a signature trait of the New Zealand-born artist, almost as much as his use of pre-existing images.

Many refer to Sam’s use of graphics and some random pictures (others more symbolic) as an attempt to convey complex messages through iconography.

Sam agrees that they do work to communicate his intended meanings but laughs at the suggestion his prints are laden with profound connotations and denies he’s seeking to shake up the public consciousness.

“One guy asked me once if my artwork was political and I didn’t think it was,” he says. “However, in saying that, some of the ideas in my work are political ideas, such as ideas about immigration or consumerism.

“One of the things with the found imagery is that much of it is nondescript or generic. It doesn’t have a lot of meaning so I guess I create meaning within the artwork myself. But I think it’s all about the individual and that people will read things their own way. I like the fact that work can be open and read in lots of different ways.”

The father of two seems surprised and humbled his style has been so well received.

As a graduate in the late 1990s, Sam says he launched his own T-shirt label called Humbug as a way to both practice his new-found skills and earn a living.

“When you first finish uni I guess it’s hard to find your way and translate all the skills you have learnt into making money. So, for the first few years, I started a T-shirt label and up to about 2001 it was the main thing that I did,” he says.

But he never expected that, 10 years on, his label would still be going strong and helping to support what has been for the past seven years a full-time art career. Asked whether he feels the disposable nature of his T-shirts undermines his work as a practicing artist, he says he’s happy with the harmony that exists between the two.

To view Sam’s works, visit the Fantasy and Frontier exhibition at Cairns Regional Gallery until May 4.

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