TAI TAEOALLI 

“Art is the only thing I do that makes me feel real, rooted, and in perfect balance.”

Creating with inspiration fueled by music and the nostalgic memories of his turbulent teenage years, Tai Taeoalii tried to utilize his self-taught techniques, cultivated from urban doctrines, in an effort to create art that evokes an honest & hopefully profound emotional experience. 

Growing up as a bi-racial child in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a predominantly white, suburban environment, Tai fabricated a self-perception of pariahdom. Tormented with that angst and confusion at such a young age, he was fortunate to discover that the arts were a perfect way to express the frustrations of my cultural identity. Through his artistic explorations, he realized his auto-didactic ability, which evolved into experimentation with nearly every type of art-form, including graffiti and tattoo work, but no medium has captured and retained his affections as strongly as drawing with a ballpoint pen, so that has been Tai's central focus for most of his artistic career.

Tai's recent artworks are surreal creations of ballpoint pen drawings on Mylar film, with additional accents of color created from pencils, pastels, charcoals and a drizzle of watercolors.

While Tai's art is seemingly filled with symbolic imagery, bearing social or political commentary, he never consciously approach a drawing with the intent of forcing his beliefs or opinions on viewers. His creative process spawns from an organic and authentic subconscious journey and his creations manifest more by virtue of my own self-evaluation and less of propagating my ideology.

Tai's persistent drive to provide thought-provoking content has helped to develop a dedicated following of over 300,000 members on Facebook and Instagram and played a critical role in his international success.