This April, City Gallery Wellington presents an exhibition of work by one of New Zealand’s most celebrated artist, Colin McCahon (1919–87). On Going Out with the Tide explores McCahon’s evolving engagement with Māori subjects and themes in his works from the 1960s and 1970s. These works range from early treatments of koru imagery to later history paintings, referring to Māori prophets and highlighting land-rights issues.

On Going Out with the Tide seeks to understand these works in terms of tectonic shifts in New Zealand culture—emerging biculturalism. It restores a historical context to the work, by understanding it in terms of the times in which it was made, as well as considering the ways it has been read subsequently. McCahon’s interest was fed by new resources on Māori culture, friendships with writers and artists, and the births of his Māori grandsons, Matiu and Peter (Tui). While McCahon’s interest in Māori culture sustained and consolidated longstanding features of his work, it also fundamentally changed it.

The exhibition fills the ground floor of the Gallery. There is a room of works from 1969 based on Matire Kereama’s book The Tail of the Fish, which includes The Canoe Tainui—the most expensive work to sell at auction in New Zealand. Other rooms address particular places: Muriwai (where McCahon had his studio), Parihaka, and Te Urewera.

City Gallery Chief Curator Robert Leonard says, “The exhibition is an opportunity to consider how increasing awareness of Māori culture and concerns shaped the work of New Zealand’s most celebrated artist’s most important period. We know there will be divergent views on the work. The show does not presume to offer the last word on the work—its meaning, significance, and politics—but to provide a platform for discussion. As part of the project, City Gallery will be presenting an accompanying programme of lectures, talks, and screenings.”

On Going Out with the Tide features major works from public and private collections in New Zealand and Australia. The exhibition is curated by Wystan Curnow and Robert Leonard.

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Colin McCahon: On Going Out with the Tide
April 8 – 31 July 2017 | Free entry
City Gallery Wellington, Civic Square
Wellington, New Zealand