'Creating the seen from the unseen': Dr Sione Faletau turns sound waves into Tongan kupesi

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

Artists have a unique way of visually representing our world — including elements we can't physically see, like sound.
Tongan artist, Dr. Sione Faletau has combined his skills in digital art, audio engineering, and coding to create visual representations of sound, which he calls "creating the seen from the unseen."
At the heart of his work is ongo - a concept that relates to both sound and feeling, reflecting the deep connection between Tongan cultural and spiritual life.
Faletau uses audio waveforms — often from voices, music, or environmental sounds - and manipulates them digitally to create kupesi, the traditional Tongan patterns found on ngatu.
Dr Sione Faletau says this digital practice was born during COVID-times but as a musician, sound "is very much a part of my art practice." ( )
His practice, which he calls "sonic mark-making," is an ode to the traditional role of ngatu as a medium for recording stories and histories.
"I've kind of identified this geometrical language within kupesi or traditional Tongan patterns [that] have angular arrangements. These [are] clues that I can extract and create traditional forms in a digital way - in step with the ancestors," he said.
"I've always been interested in patterns and kupesi. I would say tapa cloth ... our mats, they are our, I guess, form of written language."