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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 Auckland, New Zealand. It is printed with the logo 'eyeguy’, a transliteration of the Samoan term 'ai-kae which means eat shit'. This play on words and the spelling of words (using English and Samoan language) on a t-shirt makes a common Samoan insult and element of
Setoga has played with other historical icons, moments, and stereotypes about Pacific peoples in his long established range of t-shirts. By reworking these subjects in often humorous ways, Setoga turns them into statements of pride and identity.
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.