Thomas Joseph Suluape

TOMASI SULU'APE Tomasi Sulu'ape was born in 1972 in the Black Forest Mountains in South Germany. In the age of 5 years he starts drawing .with 9 years he starts with different techniques and portraits, but he already was addicted to geometrical drawings.As a teenager he started an apprenticeship as a carpenter and also learned the traditional way of wood carving. Beside that Tomasi began his studies of the main designs of Polynesian drawings. A passion has begun. Then he's been travelling around the world for about ten years following the waves of the ocean in Europe, Africa, South America, the West Indies, Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. During a longer stay in Trinidad Tomasi's friend the fisherman Elton Pouchet became his guide of learning to read the ocean and the inspiring nature. From then on he got in deep contact with different cultures and artists all over the world. He learned from wood carvers and paint artists in Africa and South America. In 2001 Tomasi began tattooing with an old Micky Sharp Machine and also combined body painting with Polynesian tattoo designs, where he was working between as a member in the atelier of beautiful arts with one of his best friends and teacher Pavel Vasilisin from Czechoslovakia. Back in Germany he worked as a carpenter again for living but meanwhile created new tattoo designs and more and more people asked Tomasi for Polynesian tattoos. He was then working as a carpenter at daytime and tattooing at night. He built his first traditional tattoo tools and improved his skills of Polynesian tattooing. Technical drawings and geometrical designs inspired him as well as artists like M.C. Escher or Vaserelli. On a journey to Samoa and Australia he became a member of the Sulu'ape family and was officially adopted by his future dad Sua Sulu'ape Petelo living in Australia. He was introduced to the traditional Samoan art of tattooing by the brother of his dad who is a tufunga as well. Today Tomasi and his brothers Mike and Charly Sulu'ape share their knowledge, enthusiasm and spirit and receive detailed instruction and education about the art of traditional Samoan tattooing and its spirit from their dad Petelo in Sydney. Tomasi is the only official Samoan Sulu'ape tattooist in Europe who works mainly in Freiburg .2011 he got passed the traditional tattooinstruments from his father sua suluape petelo to keep on going the way of what the family is doing samoan tatau