Israel Tangaroa Birch

Name
Israel Tangaroa Birch
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngāpuhi/Māori
Ngāti Kahungunu/Māori
Ngāi Tawake/Māori
Ngāti Rakaipaaka/Ngāti Kahungunu/Māori
Date of birth
1976
Gender
Male
Biography
Israel Birch holds a visual arts degree from the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ahuriri/Napier, and a Masters in Māori Visual Arts from Massey University’s Toioho ki Āpiti, Te Papa-i-Oea/Palmerston North, where he now lectures.

Birch’s works are made through a process of etching, grinding and shaping stainless steel. He uses pattern and repetition to engage with light, shape and form. Through this work, he acknowledges the influence of whakairo (carving), the relationship between Te Ao Mārama (the world of light) and Te Pō (the perpetual night), issues of the environment and our relationship to the landscape, and the intangible aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori world).