Artwork information

During the 1950s Arnold Wilson explored traditional Māori imagery and concerns using the formal language of modern European art. His fusion of time-honoured ideas and new approaches was unprecedented in Māori art and resulted in striking visual statements such as this geometricised mask of 1955. The artist later said ‘I want to show in my work that the forms, the mauri (spirit), can show contrast and yet be familiar with both worlds, that of the past and that of the modern movement.’ (Headspace, 2002)