Samuel Tupou is a Queensland-based artist who specialises in creating vivid artworks that respond to his Tongan and Polynesian heritage, incorporating patterns derived from and inspired by traditional Pacific Island Tapa cloth design. His recent works draw inspiration from mathematical geometry and 80s arcade game imagery as well as Pacific Island Tapa cloth design and fine mat weaving. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, Tupou migrated to Australia with his parents in 1982 and grew up in the small bauxite mining township of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory. After completing art school, he moved to Cairns, where he helped establish the Upholstery Artist Run Initiative in the early 2000s. He has since exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally.