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Download AudioDescribed as a landmark account of Māori art history in words and pictures, a groundbreaking book has just been released.
Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art is a 600-page, 500-image masterpiece, 12 years in the making.
The book was co-written by the late Jonathan Mane-Wheoki and Professors Deidre Brown and Ngarino Ellis.
Ellis says the thousands of colours seen in the hīkoi to Parliament symbolize everything the book seeks to convey.
“In Wellington there was a huge swelling of Māori coming together, celebrating our history and our resilience – and that’s what the book is about. It’s celebrating what we’ve done over our history, and we want people to read that, and really realise how fantastic our art has been, and continues to be,” says Ellis.
Ngarino Ellis says Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art spans a vast scope, from ancient weaving traditions to 20th-century modernism.
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