Taboo: The Art Of Tiki - Martin McIntosh

A neon-lit fever dream of Polynesian pop, mid-century escapism, and carved gods with cocktail glasses nearby, Taboo: The Art of Tiki dives headfirst into the world of bamboo bars, surf culture, and fantasy islands that never really existed. Edited by Martin McIntosh with a scene-setting intro from Sven Kirsten, the book maps out how tiki culture mixed art, design, music, and pure escapism into its own strange universe.

It’s packed with lush visuals and deep cuts, tracing everything from hand-carved idols and vintage barware to the artists and obsessives who kept the aesthetic alive long after its first wave crashed. Beneath the tropical kitsch is a layered story of cultural borrowing, reinvention, and nostalgia, where paradise is something you build yourself out of wood, rum, and imagination.