Telly Tuita's work has been recognised for the way it brings together Pacific heritage, personal narrative, and bold visual language. Through his vision, Tuita has coined the term Tongpop, which is used to celebrate the artist's rich relationship with his ancestral home of Tonga, as well as his lived experiences in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Within his practice of video, photography, painting, sculpture and installation, Tuita navigates ideas of home and belonging, identity and self-worth. His work encapsulates an experience lived between two realities.
Tuita has exhibited widely across Australia, New Zealand and internationally. He exhibited his first major solo show 'Tongpop’s Great Expectations' at Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW in 2024. Tuita has showcased at the Indigenous Contemporary Art Biennial (BACA), 2026, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (UK), October 2025 - February 2026, Tauranga Art Gallery, 2021, and the Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki, 2022. Tuita was selected as Sydney Festival's Visual Artist in Residence in 2025 where the artist transformed the iconic Thirsty Mile precinct with the work 'Tā and Vā of Tongpop', highlighting his vibrant Tongpop designs.
He has also shown at key international events including the Aotearoa Art Fair and the Ballarat International Foto Biennale for the Australian Premiere in 2022.
Select Solo Exhibitions
– A Tongpop Tale: Memoirs of a Professional Brown Man, MARS Gallery, 2026
– The Tā and Vā of Tongpop, The Thirsty Mile, Sydney Festival, Sydney, Australia, 2025
– CRUISE, DJCS Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand, 2025
– The Tēvolo Made Me Do It, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024
– Tongpop Archetypes, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand, 2024
– The Immortal Tango Of Love And War, The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, & Diaspora’s Children, 2024
– Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024
– Great Expectations, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, Australia, 2024
– Tongpop Pantheon, Core Program Outdoor - Australian Premiere, Ballarat International Foto Biennale, 2023
– Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 2023
– Tongpop to Britomart, Britomart Precinct, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– The Immortal Tango Of Love And War, Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, The Cloud, Auckland, NZ, 2023
– Tongpop Cornucopia, Bergman Gallery Auckland, New Zealand, 2022
– Herstory, Weasel Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2022
– Tongpop Fetish, Objectspace, Auckland, New Zealand, 2022
– Tongpop He-story, Precinct 35, Wellington, New Zealand, 2022
– Tongpop Nostalgia, Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2022
– TONGPOP KAPOW, Precinct 35, Wellington, New Zealand, 2019
– Auckland Art Fair 2019, Weasel Gallery, The Cloud, Auckland, New Zealand, 2019
– Tongpop Souvenir, Precinct35, Wellington, New Zealand, 2018
– TongPopUa, Weasel Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2018
Select Group Exhibitions
– Radical Joy, Sydney Contemporary, MARS Gallery, 2026
– From MARS to Aotearoa, MARS Gallery, Aotearoa Art Fair, New Zealand, 2026
– Horny Jail 2, Nasha Gallery, Haymarket, Australia, 2025
– Pride and Prejudice 2, Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 2025
– Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand, 2025
– Redefining Space, Forrester Gallery, Ōamaru, New Zealand, 2025
– Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024
– Fa’aaliga – Beneath the Surface, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024
– Autumn Selection, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024
– Horizon, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– Tukufakaholo – Tongan Contemporary, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– Winter Group Show, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– Autumn Group Show, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– Summer Group Show, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2023
– Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, The Cloud, Auckland, New Zealand, 2022
– Te Atuitanga – Between our Cloak of Stars, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2022
– Whetūrangitia/Made As Stars, The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, 2022
– Divergent, New Photography Aotearoa, The Renshaws, Brisbane, Australia, 2022
– MĀNAWATIA TAKATĀPUI : DEFENDING PLURALITY, Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga, New Zealand, 2021
– SpaceYZ, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, Australia, 2021
– SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, TAUTAI, Auckland, New Zealand, 2020
– Aati ‘i he po’uli Art in the dark, ‘Amui ‘i Mu’a – Ancient Futures Conference, Tanoa International, 2019
– Dateline Hotel, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, 2019
– The Garden, Precinct 35, Wellington, New Zealand, 2019
– Subversion, Art Month with the Contemporary Art Festival, Tortuga Studios, St Peters, Australia, 2015
– Pacific Wave, Logan Regional Art Gallery, Queen, 2011
Select Awards & Achievements
– National Contemporary Art Award for work Diasporas Children, Waikato Museum, finalist, 2021
– Molly Morpeth Canaday Award (Arts Whakatāne Highly Commended Award), 2020
– Wintec New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award Merit Award, Wintec, 2019
– Fishers Ghost Art Award, University of New South Wales Art & Design, 2015