Maori art is unique among all art movements, and to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Drawing on centuries of indigenous knowledge and skill, it reflects a Maori world view, life in this land and the debates that continue to shape it.
Based on the ground-breaking 2020-21 exhibition staged by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, and edited by the show's curator Nigel Borell, Toi Tu Toi Ora tells the story of contemporary Maori art from the 1950s to the present day, with more than 200 works by 110 Maori artists.
From carving to painting, video art to jewellery, body adornment to weaving, this is a powerful expression of the vast creativity and diversity within Maori art, linked across time and place through the Maori creation story and revealing profound connections to whakapapa, to whenua and to the spiritual world.
Every work is illustrated in full colour and described in illuminating captions that are bilingual in English and te reo Maori. A beautiful foreword by Moana Jackson and the author's informative introduction share the history of contemporary Maori art within a kaupapa Maori worldview. These are supplemented by a comprehensive chronology of contemporary Maori art by the exhibition's assistant curator Taarati Taiaroa, and detailed biographies for every artist, written by expert curators and art historians.
This is a major resource on toi Maori for anyone interested in the culture or history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Kia maia! This is the art book Aotearoa has been waiting for! It resets the potential of all our dreams and creates a powerful poutama to the future. - Witi Ihimaera