Saffronn Te Ratana

Name
Saffronn Te Ratana
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngāi Tūhoe/Māori
Date of birth
1975
Gender
Female
Biography
Saffronn Te Ratana’s paintings employ mark-making and three-dimensional structures to extend and deconstruct the conventions of painting, playing with notions of space and narrative.

From a family of artists, Te Ratana first studied at the University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts in 1994 before completing a Bachelor of Maori Visual Arts (2000) and a Masters of Maori Visual Arts (2004) from Massey University in Te Papa-i-Oea/Palmerston North.

Te Ratana has since forged a practice that explores Māori histories, identities and experiences, including collaborations with her partner Ngataiharuru Taepa and artist Hemi Macgregor.