Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art tells the story of contemporary Māori art in a powerful, dynamic new book

Original article published by Penguin Random House NZ

 

Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art Nigel Borell with Moana Jackson and Taarati Taiaroa
RRP $65.00, available 16 March 2022

The story of contemporary Māori art from the 1950s to the present day, with more than 200 artworks by 110 Māori artists, this is a powerful, dynamic new book.

‘Kia māia! 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

Māori art is unique among all art movements, and to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Drawing on centuries of indigenous knowledge and skill, it reflects a Māori 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 Tāmaki, and edited by the show’s curator Nigel Borell, Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art tells the story of contemporary Māori art from the 1950s to the present day, with more than 200 works by 110 Māori 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 Māori art, linked across time and place through the Māori 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 Māori. A beautiful foreword by Moana Jackson and the author’s informative introduction share the history of contemporary Māori art within a kaupapa Māori worldview.

These are supplemented by a comprehensive chronology of contemporary Māori art by the exhibition’s assistant curator Taarati Taiaroa, and detailed biographies for every artist, written by expert curators and art historians.

Published by Penguin Random House NZ in partnership with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, this is a major resource on toi Māori for anyone interested in the culture or history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Nigel Borell says, ‘This publication reveals the distinct place Māori knowledge plays in understanding Māori art. It brings into focus the dynamism and wisdom of the Māori creation story as the ultimate Māori knowledge framework and this permeates throughout Toi Tū Toi Ora. Often art histories adhere to a chronology shaped by Western understandings of time, knowledge, and art traditions. This publication intersects that dominant paradigm to privilege a Māori world view as the first conversation or proposition in relation to encountering Māori art and its legacy.’ 

Head of Publishing at Penguin Random House Claire Murdoch says, ‘Toi Tū Toi Ora represents a great legacy and carries in its pages the knowledge and creativity of so many. Both simple and profound, it rewards hours spent reading and looking. I expect it to be in print for many years to come.’

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki’s Director Kirsten Lacy says, ‘This book is a significant resource, a marker in time and will be enjoyed for generations to come. It is an important achievement for Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and another step in our continuing journey, celebrating and showcasing the artistic achievements of Māori and New Zealand artists.’

‘A taonga that will be accessible by ngā hekenga a ngā kaitoi – the descendents of the artists – and for Māori o nāianei – Māori of today.’ — Te Arepa Morehu, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Head of Kaupapa Māori

‘This is a seminal work and my hope is that it will be seen as a gift to future generations in Aotearoa and around the world, inspired by the creativity of the ancestors living and ever present in the medium of Te Ao Māori contemporary art.’ — Helen Te Hira, Auckland Unlimited Director of Māori Outcomes 

Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art Nigel Borell rātou ko Moana Jackson, ko Taarati 

Ko te kōrero o ngā toi Māori mai i ngā tau o te 1950, ā mōroki noa nei, me ngā mahinga toi neke atu i te 200 mai i ngā ringatoi Māori 110. He pukapuka whai mana, he hihiri anō hoki.

‘Kia māia! Kua roa a Aotearoa e whanga atu ana ki tēnei pukapuka toi! E whakatika ana i te pitomata o ō mātou moemoeā, ā, ka hanga anō i tētahi poutama ki te ānamata.’ – Witi Ihimaera

He mea motuhake te toi Māori ki roto i ngā kaupapa toi katoa, ā, ki Aotearoa anō hoki.

He tō mai i ngā pūkenga, i ngā mātauranga o uki, e whakaatu ana i te tirohanga Māori, i te oranga i tēnei whenua me ngā taukumekume e whakaāhua ana i a ia.

E hāngai ana tēnei ki te whakaaturanga auaha o 2020-21 nā te Toi o Tāmaki i whakatū, ā, nā te kaitiaki toi o te whakaaturanga a Nigel Borell i whakatau. Ka kōrero te Toi tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art mō ngā toi Māori mai i ngā tau o te 1950, ā mōroki noa nei, me ngā mahinga toi neke atu i te 200 mai i ngā ringatoi Māori 110.

Mai i te whakairo ki te peita, te kiriata ki te whakakai, te whakarākei ki te raranga, he whakapuaki whakahirahira tēnei i te nui o te auaha me te kanorau i roto i te toi Māori, hono hoki i ngā tau, i ngā takiwā mā ngā kōrero o te ōrokohanga o te Māori me ngā tātai whakapapa ki te whenua me te ao wairua.

Kua whakaāhuatia ngā mahi katoa ki te tae, ā, kua whakamārama ngā kōrero ki te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori. He kōrero whakataki nā Moana Jackson me tētahi kōrero whakatūwhera whaihua mai i te kaituhi e tuari ana i te hītori o te toi Māori ō nāianei mai i te tirohanga kaupapa Māori.

Kua āpititia ēnei me tētahi whakaraupapatanga wā o te toi Māori ō nāianei e te kaitiaki toi āwhina, e Taarati Taiaroa, ā, kua tuhia ētahi haurongo mō ia ringatoi e ētahi kaitiaki toi me ētahi kaihītoria toi.

Kua whakaputaina tēnei e Penguin Random House NZ me te Toi o Tāmaki, ā, he tino rauemi tēnei o te toi Māori mō te katoa e hiahia ana ki te mōhio mō te ahurea, te hītori rānei o Aotearoa.

Ko tā Nigel Borell, ‘Ko tēnei whakaputanga e whakaatu ana i te tino o te mātauranga Māori kia mārama ai i te toi Māori. E aro ana tēnei ki te hira me te mātauranga o te kōrero mō te ōrokohanga o te Māori, hei anga matua mō te mātauranga Māori, ā, e uru ana tēnei ki Toi Tū Toi Ora. I te nuinga o te wā ka hāngai ngā whakaraupapatanga wā o te hītori toi ki tā te māramatanga Pākehā mō te wā, te mātauranga, me ngā tikanga toi. Ko tēnei whakaputanga e whakawhiti ana i te tauira matua ki te whakamana i te tirohanga Māori hei kōrerotanga tuatahi, hei mārohitanga rānei i te tūtakihanga ki te toi Māori me ōna whakarerenga iho.’

Ko tā te Head of Publishing ki Penguin Random House, a Claire Murdoch, ‘E whakaatu ana te Toi Tū Toi Ora i te whakarerenga iho nui, ā, e kawe ana i te mātauranga me te auaha o te tokomaha i roto i ōna whārangi. He ngāwari, he hōhonu, ā, e whakamomoho ana i te wā o te kaipānui, o te kaititiro anō hoki. Kāore e kore ka whakaputa tēnei mō ngā tau kei te heke mai.’

Ko tā te Director o te Toi o Tāmaki, a Kirsten Lacy, ‘He tino rauemi tēnei pukapuka, he matohu o te wā, hei āhuareka mō ngā whakatipuranga. He whakatutukitanga nui tēnei mō te Toi o Tāmaki, ā, he kokenga anō i tō mātou huarahi ki te whakanui, ki te whakaatu i nga tutukitanga toi o te Māori me ngā ringatoi o Aotearoa.’

‘Ka whai wāhi ngā hekenga a ngā kaitoi me te Māori ō nāianei ki tēnei taonga.’ – Ko tā Te Arepa Morehu, Toi o Tāmaki Head of Kaupapa Maori

‘Kua whai tikanga tēnei mahi, ā, e wawata ana kia kitea tēnei hei koha mō ngā uri whakaheke i Aotearoa, ā, huri i te ao. Kua whai hua mai i te auaha o ngā tīpuna e ora tonu ana i te momo o te toi Māori ō nāianei.’ – Ko tā Helen Te Hira, Auckland Unlimited Director of Māori Outcomes

For more information, contact: 

Juliet McGhie
Publicist, Penguin Random House NZ
JMcGhie@penguinrandomhouse.co.nz
+64 27 707 9127