Haha/Regan Tamanui
Australian self-taught artist working with stencils, specializing in portraits. Began working on the street but has expanded into gallery spaces. -www.regantamanui.com
Haha investigates the power of mass media within Australian popular culture and the new virtues of the 21st century: reality TV, sports, criminal lifestyles, instant fame and fortune. His images generally derive from newspapers or photographs.
His tag “Ha Ha” was inspired by the laugh of the character Nelson from The Simpsons. He tells documentary maker Nicholas Hansen, "I set myself goals. And my goal was to go through two tins of paint each night...and if you get caught? Ha ha. Ha ha."
Been exhibiting for over 8 years, held 10 solo shows in Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart & Sydney. Represented by three commercial galleries across Australia. The National Gallery of Australia, BHP Billiton, State Library of Victoria, City of Melbourne, Artbank & private collections across Australia, NZ, UK & USA. -http://www.theblenderstudios.com/regan-profile.html
Ned Kelly Portraits
Notorious outlaw Ned Kelly - bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, convicted police murderer - is an iconic figure in Australian history, culture, and works in the arts.
"Ned Kelly was a criminal. Just like graffiti or whatever you want to call it. The act of stencilling runs in that same vein of thought. The cool thing is that Ned Kelly was loved by the people, and with street art, it's the people's art. It's like the voice of the people." -Tamanui
Personal Heroes
Coinciding with the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Retrospective portrait series of New Zealand Rugby players.
Team players once worked to support their collective sporting endeavour. These days corporate money encourages the status of the individual/celebrity, an advertising icon for multinational business products.
"...the whole idea of the show is it's all about rugby before it became a national corporation," says Tamanui. ‘So I've got pre-80s rugby players where dudes had to work on the farm, or have a real job.’”
A "lament for the passing of the mantle `individual hero' over to `corporate property'." -Gallery blurb
Related Interlude: Stuckism
Various people by HaHa in Stevenson Lane
Stuckism began in London, in 1999. Tamanui started the first international branch of the movement in 2000, the Melbourne Stuckists.
The Stuckists generally take a pro-painting and anti-conceptual stance on art. Tamanui explains, “Yes, I still consider myself a stuckist but I don’t subscribe to all the stuckist stuff. I do enjoy most themes in conceptual art, especially conceptual art you can interact with and become part of.” It appears he is able to see the potential for inclusivity in the nebulous miasma of conceptual art work. “I’m interested in the accessibility of art to the everyday person – that’s why I love street art. It’s the people’s art and deals with themes that we all relate to. The streets are like the people’s art gallery and everyone becomes a participant.”
“It’s very easy to be sophisticated and analytical and academic and intellectual and neurotic and totally tangled up in your thoughts and complexes. It’s much harder to get down to the essence of something and sum it up.” -Charles Thomson (English artist, poet, photographer, co-founder of Stuckist art movement in 1999)
Denham Lane Portraits
Commissioned by the Townsville City Council. Two story building on Denham Lane, featuring past and present people from Townsville.
Tamanui suggests, “A successful art piece should have controversy. That wall kind of reflects the ancestry” of the town, including figures that people can look up to. This piece works as “an example of honoring these people who contributed to the collective consciousness of Townsville.”
An interview highlighting this project, including some discussion of his various other works and processes:
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