𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙥𝙤𝙥 𝙁𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧
𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮

𝟴 - 𝟮𝟳 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
Bergman Gallery | Rarotonga
Beachcomber Courtyard
Taputapuatea
Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Tongpop Fervour ignites the emotional extremes that define Telly Tuita’s practice—devotion and defiance, longing and rupture—within the chromatic intensity of his self-defined visual language. Drawing from personal history, cultural symbolism, and the spiritual architectures of his upbringing, Tuita channels a fervent energy that is both sacred and insurgent.

This body of work builds upon the Tongpop aesthetic—a vibrant fusion of Tongan heritage, Christian iconography, and global pop references—yet pivots toward the intensity of fervour as both spiritual heat and emotional combustion. Tuita’s figures, often adorned and enshrined, are rendered with theatrical precision. Patterns repeat like liturgy, colours clash like protest, and every surface shimmers with urgency.

In Tongpop Fervour, love and war are not opposing forces but coexisting currents—fuelled by memory, exile, belief, and desire. The works evoke ritual, but they also disrupt it. They celebrate identity while acknowledging its fractures. They are offerings, confrontations, and survival chants rendered in paint, photography, and collage.

Tuita’s vision is uncompromising. In this realm, fervour is a political and personal condition—performed with maximalist resolve and unrelenting clarity. Tongpop Fervour is not a retreat from complexity; it is a radiant reckoning.