Exhibitions
Events
On display
The Mamakus by Buck Nin
Buck Nin The Mamakus circa 1975. Acrylic and fluorescent paint on board. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 2002.
Art Bite
Past event
Meet in the exhibition
Free
Join volunteer guide Rod McKay as he discusses Buck Nin's The Mamakus on the first floor.
Art Bites are 20-minute lunchtime presentations on a single work on display, presented by our staff, guides and guest speakers.
There's a new Art Bite to enjoy each Friday at 12.30pm.
Related reading: Free event
Exhibition
Untitled #1050
25 November 2017 – 14 October 2018
An engrossing selection of abstract art by big-name New Zealand artists
Collection
Buck Nin The Mamakus
Buck Nin is an important Aotearoa New Zealand painter of the twentieth century. He grew up in Te Tai Tokerau Northland, with whakapapa to Guangzhou, China through his father and Horowhenua through his mother. In 1992 Nin spoke about what inspired his work: “The land is our heritage. It is the basis from which all creativity stems in Māoridom. For me it is a very strong element for its sustenance, its spiritual reality and the enlightenment it brings to my work.” In this work, Nin paints the Mamaku Ranges, which lie to the west of Lake Rotorua. Laid over the abstracted landforms are Nin’s interpretations of the carved prow and stern of Te Winika, the nearly 200-year-old waka taua. In the 1930s, Te Winika became a symbol of the Kīngitanga and the waka renaissance initiated by Te Puea Herangi.
whakapapa ~ genealogy, lineage, ancestry
waka ~ taua war canoe
Kīngitanga ~ the King Movement which developed in the 1850s to stop the loss of land to colonists, maintain law and order and promote traditional values and culturewaka canoe
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)
