Militia at SPF Projects

Please join me on June 13, 2013 from 6-8pm at SPF Project for Militia, my first solo show! SPF Projects is a new gallery in Oahu at 729 Auahi Street in Honolulu, and Militia will be their inaugural exhibition. The show runs from June 13 – July 14, and gallery hour are Tues-Thursday from 7pm-11pm and Sunday 1-5pm.

The SPF Projects official press release describes the work on exhibition:

As a second-generation surfboard shaper and Polynesian tattoo practitioner, Tallett combines the materials and visual language of both traditions to shape this new body of work. Flying Hawaiians merges imagery, ranging from camouflage, to tire tread marks, and trompe-l’œil bullet holes to create a cohesive and patterned surface, which he then coats in a seductive, glossy epoxy resin. Although the worksʼ media may be sampled from the surfboard shaperʼs toolbox, the final effects present radically different outcomes. To this end, Tallettʼs Flying Hawaiians seem more street than sea ready. More moke than surfer dude.

Highly charged pidgin phrases, like, “Watufaka?! Noack!” and the provocative, “Puinsai,” are inked into the tender skin of anthurium, lilikoi, and banana alike—producing fetish objects, which reference testosterone-heavy realms, such as, the worlds of tattooing, hunting, surfing, and car culture. In this way, Tallett takes on issues of masculinity, while offering a uniquely Hawaiian perspective, on homegrown-local-boy aggression.

The artist cites traditional Hawaiian culture, counter culture, and pop culture as sources of inspiration for his work. The clash, between these areas of endemic and invasive authority, is palpable. However, it is precisely this ability to arm himself, unapologetically, with bits and pieces of these seemingly contradictory conditions, which makes Tallettʼs work so forceful and timely.

SPF Projects “provides a venue for the production and display of contemporary art and theory in Honolulu. With a focus on building the capacity for critically engaged art and dialogue in the Islands, SPF is dedicated to developing a cross-disciplinary and intergenerational program through the exhibition of local, national, and international artists and thinkers.”

I am please and honored to be their first exhibition!

Like and Share! – SPF on FACEBOOK
For more information about SPF Projects – contact Drew Broderick / 808.783.2665 / spfprojects@gmail.com