Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo II

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Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo II (* 1949, Matafa'a , Lefaga , Samoa ; † November 25, 1999 , Auckland , New Zealand ) was a tufuga ta tatau (tatau master for Samoan tattoos ). He had lived in New Zealand since the 1970s and was considered a mediator for Samoan culture. He was beaten to death by his wife, Epifania Sulu'ape, after she learned that he wanted to leave her for his Swedish lover, Heidi Hay.

Life

Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo II was born in Matafa'a near Lefaga, Samoa.

His father Sulu'ape Paulo I was a tufuga ta tatau , as were his brothers Su'a Sulu'ape Petelo , Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo and Su'a Sulu'ape Lafaele . The masters are loosely organized in a kind of guild as masters and apprentices. The word “tattoo” is said to go back to the Samoan word tatau . In Samoan mythology, the origin of art is traced back to the two sisters Tilafaiga and Taema , who brought the tools and knowledge to Samoa. The tattoos (tatau) for men are called Pe'a and for women malu .

Paulo received his education at Chanel College , a Catholic boarding school at Apia . He began his training as a tattoo artist in 1967 and then emigrated to Auckland , New Zealand in 1973 . Paulo worked during the day and performed tattoos in the evenings and weekends for the growing Samoan exile community. Prominent Samoans he tattooed include artist Fatu Feu'u and activist and lawyer Fuimaono Tuiasau . He also tattooed the New Zealand artist Tony Fomison and made connections with the local Maori .

International attention

In 1985 Paulo's brother Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo attended a tattoo convention in Rome at the invitation of the American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy . Over the next decade, Paulo followed his brother and found new opportunities to promote his work and knowledge in Europe. He established relationships with tattooists all over the world and the family name became a household name at tattoo conventions in Europe. In the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum he tattooed at the invitation of Henk Schiffmacher and received international guests and customers in his home in Auckland. Sulu'ape and his brothers served a growing Samoan diaspora in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States . He was a celebrated and at times controversial personality among the Samoans, mainly due to his efforts in his work to spread the art form outside the Samoan community. Since his sudden death in 1999, Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo in particular has endeavored to spread the influence of the Sulu'ape family in the Pacific region and internationally. He has support from his sons, who also continue the tradition.

Photographic documentation

In 2009 a documentation of Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo's life and tattoo work was created in the illustrated book Tatau: Samoan Tattoo, New Zealand Art, Global Culture . The book was designed by his friend, New Zealander photographer Mark Adams, with images from 30 years.

murder

In November 1999, Paulo's wife Epifania Sulu'ape slew her husband with the blunt side of an ax after he told her he wanted to leave her for his Swedish lover, Heidi Hay. Sulu'ape's trial was a major media event in New Zealand. She was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for manslaughter.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Knockout blow 'not seen' . In: The Press , November 27, 1999, p. 8. 
  2. ↑ Sean Mallon: "A Living Art": an interview with Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo II. In: S. Mallon, P. Brunt, N. Thomas (ed.): Tatau: Samoan Tattoo, New Zealand Art, Global Culture. Te Papa Press, Wellington 2010: 51-61.
  3. ↑ Spurned wife on trial for murder with ax . June 30, 2000.
  4. ↑ Natalie Robertson and Neil Pardington: Exhibitions Wellington . Art New Zealand magazine , Iss. 109.
  5. ^ Peter Brunt: The Temptation of Brother Anthony: Decolonization and the tattooing of Tony Fomison. In: Nicholas Thomas, Anna Cole: Tatau / Tattoo: Bodies, Art and Exchange in the Pacific and Europe. London: Reaction Press 2005: 122-44.
  6. ↑ Albert Wendt : Tatauing the Post-Colonial Body. In: Span 42-43, April-October 1996: 15-29.
  7. ↑ Sean Mallon: A Living Art : an interview with Su'a Sulu'ape Paulo II. In: S. Mallon, P. Brunt, N. Thomas (ed.): Tatau: Samoan Tattoo, New Zealand Art, Global Culture. Te Papa Press: Wellington 2010: 51-6.
  8. ↑ a b S. Mallon: Samoan tatau as global practice. Tattoo: Bodies, Art, and Exchange in the Pacific and the West. 2005: 145-169.
  9. ↑ Tatau: Samoan Tattoo, New Zealand Art, Global Culture . Te Papa Press. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 28, 2010.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tepapastore.co.nz
  10. ↑ TONY STICKLEY: Wife jailed for manslaughter of tattooist . July 20, 2001.

Web links

Commons : Tattoos in Polynesia  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Su'a, Sulu'ape Paulo II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION samoan tufuga ta tatau (tatau master)
DATE OF BIRTH 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Matafa'a , Lefaga , Samoa
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1999