All posts tagged: Raiatea

BSA X ONO’U Festival 5: Day 6 – Raiatea Wrap Up

June 13, 2018 Artists

This week BSA is checking out French Polynesia to get an appreciation for the Street Art, graffiti and street scene here while the 5^th Annual ONO’U is taking place. Join in the tropical action while we take you to Tahiti, Raiatea, Bora Bora, and Moorea to see the artists and the action.

The walls in Raiatea have been completed and the town folks came out for a block party with music and food and for the unveiling of Spanish artist OKUDA’s fiberglass sculpture of dolphins playing with the globe that he created specifically for this festival and for the the people of Raiatea.

Each of the artists created new walls while our traveling troupe was stationed here so before moving on to Bora Bora action here are some finished walls in Raiatea. We’ll report on the happenings of that beautiful island soon (when we are not cavorting in the ocean) but in the meantime we leave you here with the Raiatea Walls.

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinie. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinie . Lady Diva. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lady Diva. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Soten. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ABUZE. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ABUZE. The artist painted a sunset dedicated to his father. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cranio. We wrote a piece with WIP shots of this piece here. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams. We wrote a piece with WIP shots of this piece here. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams . Cranio . Abuze. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rival. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Christina Angelina. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Christina Angelina working on the sketch for her wall. This is a portrait of ONO’U Tahiti co-founder. Sarah Roopinia. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Christina Angelina. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA X ONO’U Festival 5: Day 5 – Cranio Brings Indigenous Life to Raiatea

June 12, 2018 Artists

Feeling blue in Tahiti even though you are surrounded by banana, mango, papaya, coconut, and pomegranate trees each offering the wild fruits of the island? Impossible.

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Yes, you are blue if you are one of Cranio’s characters, who remind us with a jolt that indigenous people of many shapes, sizes, and costume traveled and organized life on this earth long before we arrived.

With many ties to traditional costume and customs despite French Polynesia’s history of colonization, we have witnessed that there is an evident level of respect for native ways here across these islands as well.

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With bright blue guys that have red eye bands across the face, these characters were originally based on indigenous people from his native Brazil and Cranio brings them with him wherever he goes to city streets, galleries, museums, and private collections throughout the world. Appearing suddenly on the street, he places them in curious situations that personify the cultural confusion that happens in the contemporary world that hasn’t allowed for traditional ways.

Here in Raiatea he converts a set of double doors into the entryway to a tree trunk, a fantasy world that you want to be true. Painting for two decades, Cranio’s semi-surreal settings have an adventurer’s sense of play for his blue buddies to explore and cavort in – yet they gently/pointedly poke fun at social, political and environmental weaknesses in the Euro-centric world.

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cranio with Charles Williams on the background. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA X ONO’U Festival 5: Day 4 – Charles Williams (Phat1) in Raiatea

June 11, 2018 Artists

Auckland’s Charles (Phat1) and Janine (Lady Diva) Williams bring the wildlife wherever they are, and not just on the wall. A graffiti writer with mad skillz and founder of TMD Crew, Charles considers family, history, nature and his Māori heritage when creating new pieces that often combine the natural world with graphic and geometric elements. Here in Raiatea the aerosol naturalist took time and special attention to detailing the plumage of an U’upa, a species of fruit dove that is frequently seen on the islands of French Polynesia.

Charles Williams. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams . Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams . Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles Williams. ONO’U Tahiti 2018 / Raiatea. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.10.18 X ONO’U Tahiti Festival Special

June 10, 2018 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Hello from French Polynesia! All week we have been hopping around the islands from Papeete to Raiatea and now in Bora Bora. Celebrating its 5th anniversary/birthday last night at the huge community street party with founders Sarah Roopina and Jean Ozonder and with this years ONO’U festival artists slamming walls like crazy here – you can see that hard work pays off sometimes.

Grassroots, not overly commercial, inclusive, responsive to the neighbors, high quality artworks – its a solid, even golden mix. Also Sarah’s parents are always happy to pitch in, whether it is pushing a broom or making lunch for everyone at home in their kitchen and bringing it to the work site to make sure that everyone eats. It is touches of warmth like this which reminds you that in many ways this scene that started in the street is as much about community as it is self expression.

For BSA readers who are just catching up with ONO’U we thought we’d use Images of the Week as an ONO’U Greatest Hits collection today. Most of these have never before published on BSA from the four previous editions. We took winding streets, back alleys, roundabouts, promenades, rooftops, abandoned lots and just about any place we could enter alongside Martha Cooper and had a blast for three days finding these walls again. Enjoy and Māuruuru roa!

DalEast. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Seth . HJT. ONO’U Tahiti 2015. Papeete. In 2016 this particular wall was chosen by the French Polynesia Postal Service as a stamp. We wrote about it HERE. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Suiko. ONO’U Tahiti 2014 / Papeete. Roosters, hens and chicks run wild on the streets of many towns in French Polynesia. We haven’t figured out who feeds them, or how they survive, but they seem to roam free of owners and masters. One can hear the roosters making their distinctive call (here is what they sound like) every morning – sometimes before you are fully aware that the new day has begun. It is also not unusual to see a mother hen with her chicks crossing the roads at their leisure, sometimes stopping traffic. We of course stop for them. Always. Lore has it that there are big mean centipedes in the archipelagos and that the chickens eat them. See they earn their keep balancing the natural population of insects, besides being very effective alarms clocks. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leon Keer’s anamorphic Street Art, literally on the street, creates a mind-bending illusion with perspective. ONO’U Tahiti 2016 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

DalEast. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mast’s tribute to the NYC Subway creates a new faux subway stop that is roughly 6,300 miles (10,103 km) from New York. ONO’U Tahiti 2016 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

INTI. ONO’U Tahiti 2014 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MadC. ONO’U Tahiti 2014 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac. ONO’U Tahiti 2017 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KOBRA. ONO’U Tahiti 2017 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PEETA. ONO’U Tahiti 2016 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marko93. ONO’U Tahiti 2017 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Besok. ONO’U Tahiti 2014 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Charles & Janine Williams. The Ōma’o is a bird from the island of Hawaii is placed at the highest risk of extinction thus the “Critically Endangerd” or CR designation. ONO’U Tahiti 2016 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Abuz . HTJ . JUPS. ONO’U Tahiti 2016 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Askew . Sofles. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Inspired by the Polynesian legend of “The Coconut Tree” the mural has to do with an eel’s head, a forgetful young girl and the birth of the coconut tree:

“The coconut tree is one of the most common trees in The Islands Of Tahiti. The Polynesians always tell a legend about its creation… The coconut tree legend…

A long time ago, a young girl called Hina was of real beauty due to her sun kissed skin and silky hair. She was meant to marry the prince of eels. Frightened by the physique of her suitor, who had a gigantic body and an enormous head, Hina ran away and took refuge in the house of the fishing God – Hiro.

The latter was dazzled by the beauty of Hina and touched by her history, so he took one of the young woman’s hairs and with it fished the approaching eel. Hiro cut up the prince of eels and wrapped his head in leaves. Before dying, the eel said to Hina: “of all the Men who hate me, including you Hina, you will one day kiss me to thank me. I will die, but my prediction is eternal.”.

Hiro entrusted the head of the eel to Hina and then advised her:

‘Hina, girl of beauty, you can return to your family and there, you will destroy this head. But throughout your journey do not put it on the ground because then the curse of the eel will come true.’

On her way back, the beautiful young woman and her followers who accompanied her, became tired and decided to take a bath in the river, forgetting the warning of the God Hiro. The eel’s head which had been put on the ground penetrated the earth, and from it a large tree was born, with a long trunk just like an immense eel, and with foliage similar to hair; the coconut tree had just been born.

Hina was then condemned by the Gods to remain close to this river because the tree had become taboo… Life went on until the day when a terrible dryness struck the lands and during which only the coconut resisted the sun. Thus, in spite of the God’s prohibition to touch this tree, men picked its fruit full of clear and nutritive water. Each fruit was marked with 3 dark spots laid out like two eyes and a mouth on which the men put their lips in order to drink the coconut water…. Hina did the same thing ….. And the prophecy of the prince of eels had just come true.”

Askew . Sofles. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faith XLVII. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dabs & Myla . Kems. ONO’U Tahiti 2014 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dabs & Myla . Pose. ONO’U Tahiti 2015 / Papeete. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.22.17

October 22, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Absent worries that the banks and oligarchs are poised to crash our economy into the ground and that the privatized profiteering war machine wants Trump to start WWIII its been a fantastic and sunny and crisp warm week in New York. Of course the city is a little more somber since the Yankees missed their chance at the World Series last night. In the spirit of sportspersonship we wish the best to the Astros.

Aside from new street art pieces going up on the street JPO had an opening at Wall Works in the Bronx, Bezt was at Spoke Art, Royce Bannon and Matt Siren had Ember City, Philipe Pantone was at GR Gallery, Dusty Rebel is launching his “Street Cuts” App Monday, and we’re just getting a look at the new show we’re co-curating for VINZ Feel Free in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Pantone, the two walls he did this week were strong and optically dizzying/thrilling as you would expect – while the subtley more sophisticated walls were inside for Planned Iridescence near by at the GR Gallery on Bowery. The big wall done with The L.I.S.A. Project presented several technical and material difficulties which the artist eventually solved but not without having to spend a whole lot more of time on it than originally estimated: a remarkable feat, even if the wall itself isn’t a large one compared to many others he’s executed around the world. Sure enough it got the New York welcome from a graffiti artist who took the liberty to vandalize it under the cover of darkness and on the very same night of the opening party for his show.

We have grown accustomed to see the artworks by Street Artists and muralists in public vandalized, disrespected and gone over. We don’t know what justification or reasons a graffiti writer has when tagging a well executed wall and the so-called “rules” on the street depend on who’s telling them. It is interesting that the color fits right into the palette, almost as if the tagger found an unspent can that had been left on the sidewalk nearby.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Arrex Skulls, Bunny M, City Kitty, D7606, Dain, Felipe Pantone, Fintan Magee, Gods in Love, Megzany, RUN, Stikman, Stray Ones, and Thrashbird.

Top image: Felipe Pantone in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Felipe Pantone in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andrew Tarlow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dain in collaboration with The L.I. S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Strayones (photo © Jaime Rojo)

bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gods In Love in Cerignola, Italy. (photo © Gods In Love)

The Street Artist who goes by the name Gods in Love did this mural in the San Samuele district of Cerignola, Italy last month. He says that this part of the city is called “Fort Apache” by the locals – an indirect reference to the 1981 movie (and 1976 book) about a crime-ridden neighborhood in the Bronx during the 1960s-70s. The Native American tribe named The Apache that preceded the European’s arrival who lived/live in the mid-western part of this continent were known for being fierce warriors – thus the connotation with a violent proud, yet financially destitute, neighborhood in The Bronx, New York.

“A totem is a natural or supernatural entity that has a particular symbolic meaning for a person or tribe, and to whom it feels bound throughout life,” explains the artist. The term derives from the word ototeman used by the Native American people Ojibway. My choice of working on this figure arises from the need to create an image that can be symbolic of belonging to a neighborhood to a group, a symbol of belonging to the protection of the offspring and therefore of the future, a need for legality and correctness to fight or understand, integrating and accepting it, the illness stemmed from the discomfort of life in a changing neighborhood, willing to redeem. Mine is a metaphor, a symbol in which the neighborhood can fully recognize.”

Thrashbird (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RUN in Anacona, Italy. (photo © RUN)

City Kitty in collaboration with D7606 and Arrex Skulls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified Artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Megzany (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fintan Magee in Raiatea, French Polynesia for ONO’U Tahiti 2017. (photo © Jean Ozonder)

Untitled. Busker in the NYC Subway. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.15.17. ONO’U-Raiatea Special

October 15, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Raitea, or more correctly, Ra’iātea, is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. A 50 minute plane ride from where we spent a week in Tahiti for the ONO’U Festival, the organizers treated us and some of the artists and documentarians to an additional few days on this island this week.

The experience in this down to earth environment deepened our understanding and appreciation for the history, the sacred sites, and people here – many who have not previously had any interest in so-called Street Art or graffiti- or the current iterations of it anyway. The mainly port town is lush in vegetation with modest architecture, a lot of fresh produce, bare feet, a number of impressive tattoos, coral reefs, brightly colored schools of fish, vanilla beans, pineapples, black pearl farms, and now, murals from Street Artists from New Zealand, Paris, Madrid… Yes, we had the conversations about colonialism, cultural imperialism, hip hop culture, western culture, respecting traditions, giving and receiving. We’ll probably need more.

In the end, the artists thought perhaps more carefully about their work here than usual, sensitive to the audience, wanting to share. It’s this attitude of cultural exchange that inspires us to share them with you as images of our week. With gratitude to the organizers Sarah Roopinia, Jean Ozonder, Sarah’s kind parents, people of Tahiti and Raitea, and to you the loyal BSA reader here are some of the scenes that Jaime shot this week.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Akimbo, Charles & Janine Williams (Phat1 and Lady Diva), Kalouf, Marko93, Okuda, and Soten.

Top image: Kalouf. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kalouf. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marko93. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Akimbo . Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. Martha Cooper modeling the new pair (0nly pair available at the time) of Okuda sunnies. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2017. Raiatea Edition. French Polynesia. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ONO’U Tahiti – Murals from the Raiatea 2016 Edition

October 12, 2017 Artists

This week BSA takes you to the French Polynesian Islands to see the new murals going up for this tropical island cultural festival called ONO’U Tahiti 2017. We’re happy to bring you the daily events and the insights as we discover them.

As we were scouting around the island of Raiatea with Martha Cooper and Selina Miles and the artists watching the new murals going up for ONO’U Tahiti this week we thought we would collect the walls put up by artists in last year’s edition. To say that this island is picturesque isn’t enough praise, and that its inhabitants are friendly doesn’t capture the kindness – on this homeland of the Māori people that was/is called Havai’i.

In the main township of the island called Uturos most of the 12,000 or so inhabitants live and many folks stop to watch the artists paint, asking questions, making observations to one another. In an environment like this the artists noticeably recalibrate their work to be be more relevant to the context, responsive to the people who live here and meaningful to the daily living of everyday.

Here are some shots of murals from 2016.

The text reads “I am the seed scattered from Havai’i”. Havai’i is the traditional name of Raiatea. Askew One writes about the wall on his blog:

“On first visiting the wall it struck Charles & Janine Williams that it had the shape of a Wharenui (Māori meeting house) and the vacant lot in relation was like the grounds of a Marae. Charles had the idea to take the Māori proverb featured in the Tupaia documentary which was ‘He kakano ahau, ruia mai I Rāngiatea’ or ‘I am a seed scattered from Rai’ātea’ in english. After consulting with Viliamu we got the Maohi (Tahitian) translation which read ‘E heuro puehu vau no te fenua Rai’ātea” and then after further advice from many locals we changed Rai’ātea to Havai’i – the islands original name. Janine took on the task of painting the text onto the wall.”

Jellyfish and Sharks and Octopi, Oh My! Tahiti’s ONO’U, Part Deux

October 19, 2016 Artists

Our intrepid Ms. Cooper had to island-hop to snap photos of the rest of these colorful murals in Tahiti for the ONO’U Festival. Raiatea is the name of the island and Martha was told that it was known for being a sacred island where human sacrifices once took place.

“It is also the place from where voyages set out to explore surrounding islands. Two murals are based on that idea,” she say, then adds “mercifully no one painted a human sacrifice.”

Perhaps it’s is an aversion to those tales that produced only blatantly pleasant murals that feature cute sea faring creatures and the occasional errant Jaguar. Jaguars, for the record, do not favor these islands but appear to be a favorite of the French Street Artist Marko 93. There are, however Tiger Sharks swimming around sometimes, and jellyfish.

brooklyn-street-art-kalouf-martha-cooper-onou-raiatea-10-16-web-1

Seth’s Raiatea mural is of a female mermaid-octopus holding a ship. “Her tentacles represent the other islands,” says Martha.

Paris based Marko 93 was one of the most social and generous of the artists, says Martha.

“His jaguars are colorful crowd-pleasers,” she says. “Marko had a very good rapport with the locals and cheerfully signed dozens of T-shirts for kids who took a graffiti workshop.”

A version of this article appears on The Huffington Post

See Part 1 of this series here:

ONO’U Festival 2016 as Captured by Martha Cooper in Tahiti

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