Ko wai au?

Ko wai au? (Who am I?)
Ko Wai Au? Who Am I? is the question pondered by the young woman in the painting. A male figure stands uneasily behind her; his figure in silhouette is also depicted in the circular form on the wall, perhaps suggesting a dartboard or colour wheel. Like a film still, the painting has the enigmatic quality of an interrupted narrative.

Te ao hurihuri - the changing world
Questions of identity are central to Robyn Kahukiwa's art. Her work as a painter, sculptor, and book illustrator reflects her strong commitment to political issues affecting Māori. Early paintings like this highlight the plight of young Māori women as they try to find their place in a materialistic urban culture where traditional values have lost currency. Since then Kahukiwa has focused on reclaiming and celebrating the mana of Māori woman - unknown and famous, past and present.

Whakapapa
Kahukiwa began painting as a young housewife in Greymouth in the late 1960s. A belief in whakapapa underpins her work: 'My identity in things Māori is made possible because of my ancestors. It exists because of whakapapa, tribal culture and tradition. My links with the past are as important to me as the fact of my being, my future and the future of my children.'

Te Papa holds eighteen works by Robyn Kahukiwa.