July 16, 2021
Cotton Dowse survey reflects bicultural dilemma
Shane Cotton is known for his paintings featuring preserved heads, birds and sailing shios, but for his latest exhibition he also produced a series of pou as he explored his dual identity and journey into te ao Māori.
Te Puāwai opens tomorrow at the Dowse Gallery in Te Awakairangi Hutt Valley, featuring a mix of new and archival works.
Cotton, who grew up in the Hutt, says although he is seen as a bicultural artist, he has a lot to learn.
"I know a great deal about the Pākehā world and to be honest I know not that much about the Māori world so in some senses I am not truly bicultural but for me that is part of the journey and in the way I approach things in terms of my practice reflects a dilemma but also the potentiality of that position that I know many of us are in a similar waka," he says.
Shane Cotton will have an artist talk at the Dowse tomorrow morning.
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