item details
NameKa awatea
ProductionEmily Karaka; artist; 1991; New Zealand
Classificationpaintings, works of art
Materialsoil paint, enamel paint, alkyd resin, wood, stone, feather, leaf, panels
Materials Summaryoil, alkyd, enamel and collage on board
Dimensions35mm, 1224mm, 2425mm
Registration Number1997-0012-1/1-2
Credit linePurchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds
Overview
‘The Treaty will always be the basis of my work. The issues I'm always discussing are economic, social and environmental... back into the basis of justice in our country, the covenant of the country, the korowai of the country.’ (Emily Karaka, 1991)
At the centre of this work is a four-headed kaitiaki, surrounded by fish, leaves, stones, and feathers. A rainbow rises across the land.
Emily Karaka made Ka Awatea in response to the 1991 Ka Awatea policy, which sought to implement the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Karaka saw the early 1990s as a new dawn, a moment of Kotahitanga (unity) long dreamed for by Māori.