Robyn Kahukiwa

Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou — Ngāti Kōnohi, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare, Te Whānau-a-Te-Ao — and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) was born in Sydney in 1938 and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1959.

Whilst reconnecting with her heritage, Kahukiwa experienced the harsh realities faced by urban Māori and began making work in response to this. Her vast array of subject matter includes women, children and whānau; the customs and oral histories of te ao Māori (the Māori world) and the ongoing misrepresentation of te Tiriti o Waitangi across New Zealand society.

Kahukiwa gained significant recognition for her exhibition ‘Wāhine Toa: Women of Māori Myth’ (1983 to 84), which toured Aotearoa New Zealand. In the accompanying book, Māori language lecturer Keri Kaa described how Kahukiwa’s research included hours of discussion with elders, writing that: “Robyn has refired the myths in painted form and set them alight. She has given women such as Papatūānuku, Hineahuone, Hinetītama, Taranga, Mahuika, and Murirangawhenua a new status. They emerge as women of strength, power and courage.”

Kahukiwa has maintained a prolific career as a painter since the 1970s, exhibiting across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. Her interests in illustration and screen printing, and her development of superhero action figures and imagery contribute to her commitment to keeping her work — and the issues she explores — accessible.

This set of drawings for the story ‘Uamairangi’ by Katarina Mataira in the ‘Ready to Read’ edition ‘Giant Soup’ (1984) is a quintessential example of Kahukiwa’s illustrative style. She contributed to the ‘School Journal’ during the early 1980s. Since then, she has focussed on creating children’s books of her own and working with Māori authors such as Patricia Grace and Roma Potiki.