Freaky Boutiki celebrates tiki culture

Freaky Boutiki honors Polynesian art in its Tiki Island 3 exhibition. (Photo courtesy of Hank Adelsön)

In its 10th year in Mission Beach, Freaky Boutiki has undergone a recent transformation sure to please art aficionados. Formerly called Freak Factory, the boutique’s art gallery is hosting Tiki Island 3 - its first exhibition - through Sept. 4.

“It’s an international group show including work by many San Diego artists - all influenced by mid-century American tiki culture as well as their original islander inspirations,” said Hank “Hodad” Adelsön, proprietor and curator of the gallery.

Tiki Island 3 opened at the beginning of the month and will run through Sept. 4. Adelsön said the exhibition is about more than just the works on display.

“The exhibit explores the creative processes and divergent paths used by each artist in their personal journey to create modern primitive artwork using various mediums,” Adelsön said.

Freaky Boutiki Gallery is putting the exhibition on in conjunction with Tiki magazine. It features Polynesian pop art, which Adelsön called a truly American artistic phenomenon, comparable to jazz. Tiki means image - or refers to a wooden or greenstone image of a human - in the Polynesian language of Maori.

“Tiki’s primitive influence was vast and spread from southern California across the nation and world,” Adelsön said. “While its prominence has ebbed, one need only look at the popularity of San Diego’s landmarks like Mission Beach’s own Catamaran Resort to realize San Diego owns a special place in America’s legacy of tiki which should be honored, preserved and enjoyed.”

Freaky Boutiki Gallery is also as a dealer of art and ceramics. Adelsön said the gallery adjacent to the Freaky Boutiki tropical gift shop will start selling art and carving supplies later this year.

In conjunction with the gallery, Freaky Boutiki is celebrating its 10th year in Mission Beach. Adelsön said he considers the anniversary a personal triumph, having dreamed of opening his own art gallery for years.

Perhaps no period in Freaky Boutiki’s existence has been as tumultuous as the past couple of months. In June, Freak Factory was one of four San Diego smoke shops raided by San Diego Police. While Adelsön said Freak Factory is a thing of the past, he also said Freaky Boutiki is a licensed seller of a variety of tobacco products and sells hand-carved pipes.

Freaky Boutiki Gallery is open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Tuesdays), and the closing reception will be held on Sept. 4 from 6 to 11 p.m. The gallery and gift shop are located at 3742 Mission Blvd. in north Mission Beach. For more information, call (858) 488-4924 or e-mail thefreakfactory@aol.com.

Anthony Gentile writes for Beach & Bay Press, where this article was originally published.

Tags: Freaky Boutiki, Freaky Boutiki Gallery, Hank Hodad Adelson, Mission Beach, SDNN, tiki art, tiki culture, Tiki Island 3, Tiki magazine

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