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Overview
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries T-shirts are a most accessible and widely worn form of clothing. They may appear to be ordinary everyday garments, seemingly insignificant in the regions material culture. However, T- shirts and the images on them often lay claim to culture, imagination, history and places. They are an inexpensive and mass-produced form of clothing often used by artists like a canvas, to promote their causes, ideas and identities.
Significance
This T-shirt was made by artist Siliga David Setoga of POPOHARDWEAR, a clothing company based in
Setoga appropriates the approach of the well known Tui campaign to make comment on the practice of donating money to Pacific churches. News media at the time highlighted how in some communities, families struggling economically were being pressured to contribute financially to their church. In some congregations, the names of those who donated and those who had not were read out in services. A few churches practised tithing, where each member deducts a percentage of their income as a donation. Some social workers, social commentators, and even people within the churches raised concerns about the effect that large church donations were having on families.
Setoga often draws on familiar commercial symbols and slogans for inspiration. He re-works them into powerful and witty statements relating to stereotypes about
Acquisition History
Setoga is of Samoan descent. His t-shirts and installation art has been exhibited widely in art galleries and museums. This t-shirt is one of several purchased from him in 2007.