Performed at Planet IndigenUs Festival (Harbourfront Centre, Toronto); OnEdge Festival (Cairns); Darwin Festival; Bleach Festival (Gold Coast); Desert Fringe (Port Augusta); Joondalup Festival (Perth), and APAM Brisbane.
Enter the enchanting technicolour world of Polytoxic, where the traditions of the Pacific collide with the whims of pop culture.
Trade Winds is a unique site-specific performance installation featuring Polytoxic's trademark physicality and striking visuals. Performed atop the water, this work re-imagines voyages, meetings and exchanges seen on the trade routes of the Pacific Ocean in a breathtakingly beautiful festival experience for all ages.
Surrounding the performers float origami boats carrying messages and stories of the hopes and dreams of the audience, which grow with each new audience member’s contribution.
Created and performed by POLYTOXIC.
Artwork by SAMUEL TUPOU
Animation by PETE FOLEY
About the artists:
Trade Winds is the result of a collaboration between the innovative dance-theatre company Polytoxic, one of Australia’s most exciting contemporary Pacific visual artists, Samuel Tupou, and talented animator Pete Foley.
Polytoxic is based in Brisbane, Australia, and creates work inspired by the traditions of the Pacific, the guts of physical performance and the crimes of pop-culture. Samuel Tupou is one of Australia’s most exciting contemporary Pacific visual artists whose artwork sets traditional Tongan Tapa patterns against the stylized images and wildly artificial colours of western pop culture. Pete Foley is an animator, illustrator and motion designer, whose distinct point of view holds references to Art Deco, minimalism, mythology and video game culture.
Trade Winds is co-produced by Metro Arts and Polytoxic. Trade Winds has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
Photos by Vibrance Magazine / Sean Young / Jarrad Seng. Visuals by Samuel Tupou. Video edited by Lisa Fa'alafi.
