New Zealand painter
Robyn Kahukiwa (born 1938) is an Australian-born New Zealand artist, award-winning children's book author, and illustrator. Kahukiwa has created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures.
Life.
Kahukiwa was born in Sydney, in 1938. She trained as a commercial artist and later moved to New Zealand at the age of nineteen. Kahukiwa's early artworks were inspired by discovering her Māori heritage, which she began doing after moving to New Zealand.
Māori on her mother's side, Kahukiwa is of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Konohi and Whanau-a-Ruataupare descent.
Career.
From 1972 to 1980, Kahukiwa was a regular exhibitor at the Academy in Wellington.
In 1984, Kahukiwa gained prominence in New Zealand after her exhibition "Wāhine Toa" (strong women), which toured the country. This exhibition drew on Māori myth and symbolism. One of the pieces, "Hinetītama", is in the permanent collection at Te Manawa.
In 1995, Kahukiwa exhibited a series named "My Ancestors Are Always with Me" in New York.
In 2011, Kahukiwa was awarded with the Te Tohu Toi Kē Award from Te Waka Toi, the Māori arm of Creative New Zealand.
Influences.
Kahukiwa's work often deals with themes of colonialism and the dispossession of indigenous people, motherhood and blood-ties, social custom and mythology. In a 2004 article, Kahukiwa implements "political activism in subject matter and method into powerful images that assert Māori identity and tradition." She is a "staunch supporter of Māori rights and the power and prestige of Māori women." Kahukiwa's works are influenced by Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere and Frida Kahlo.
Publications.
With writer Patricia Grace:
With Joy Cowley:
With Rangimarie Sophie Jolley:
References.
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