'Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous history of Maori art' is a groundbreaking 600-page book by Maori scholars that serves as the most detailed account of Maori artistry. Authored by Ngarino Ellis, Deidre Brown, and the late Jonathan Mane-Wheoki over 12 years, it houses over 500 images while celebrating diverse Maori artistic expressions, challenging historical narratives often dominated by non-Maori perspectives. It emphasizes the inclusion of overlooked mediums like Maori architecture and forgotten artists. This work seeks to convey a rich, innovative history of Maori culture and creativity.
Our people were so productive, so innovative one thing we wanted to do is to challenge the whole idea that there was just one style of Maori art, Ellis says.
The story of Maori art has often been ignored, or historically been told by and appropriated by non-Maori.
Not only does the book celebrate the breadth of Maori art and unearth new discoveries in the process, it upends traditional western approaches to art history in favour of one that is Maori.
Prior to this book, there had been no Maori-led approach to writing an art history, says Brown.
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