Charlotte Graham (born 1972) is a contemporary Māori artist living in her tribal homelands of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She is a mandated artist for her iwi Ngāti Whanaunga. She sits on the Te Uru Contemporary Gallery board and is also part of the Te Atinga Committee. Her works are held at the

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, Toi o Tāmaki, the Chartwell collection, James Wallace Collection, many universities and private collections throughout the world. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and Scottish descent, Graham identifies with

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia and Huntly areas of the Waikato region. History Ngāti Mahuta is descended f ...

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective of tribes. The founding ancestors o ...

Ngāti Whanaunga Ngāti Whanaunga is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, descended from Whanaunga, the third son of Marutūāhu. It is one of the tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Ron ...

Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki ...

Ngāti Tamaoho Ngāti Tamaoho is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland and the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is part of the Waiohua confederation of tribes. They have three marae, which are at Karaka, Mangatangi and Pukekohe. The tribe is a strong supporter o ...

Te Akitai Waiohua and Ngāti Kōtimana.

Early life

Charlotte Graham was born in 1972 in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, to Māori parents from New Zealand. The family moved back to Auckland, New Zealand six months after Graham was born. Graham has a number of relatives who have been practicing artists, including aunt

Emily Karaka Emily (Emare) Karaka (born Auckland in 1952) is a New Zealand artist of Māori ( Ngāti Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngati Hine, Ngāpuhi) descent Kirker, Anne. ''New Zealand Women Artists'' Reed Methuen, 1986 Her work is recognised for "its expressive inten ...

, uncle Mikaara Kirkwood, cousins

Te Rongo Kirkwood Te Rongo Kirkwood (born 1973) is an artist from Auckland, New Zealand. She is known for her glass art, particularly in fused glass, fused and slumped glass.Linda George (2009)Te Rongo Kirkwood Toi Maori Aotearoa – Maori Arts New Zealand. Arch ...

and Reuben Kirkwood. Graham's two older sisters Teresa Grahsm and Raewyn Graham are also artists. Graham attended

Mount Roskill Grammar School Mount Roskill Grammar School is a secondary school in the suburb of Mount Roskill, Auckland. Officially opened in 1953, the school is widely regarded as one of the most diverse schools in Auckland, having students of over 70 different national ...

Education

Graham graduated with a Post- graduate diploma in Māori Visual Arts from

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

in 2001. She studied under Robert Jahnke,

Shane Cotton Shane William Cotton (born 3 October 1964) is a New Zealand painter whose work explores biculturalism, colonialism, cultural identity, Māori spirituality, and life and death. Life Cotton was born in Upper Hutt with Ngāpuhi iwi affiliations ...

and

Kura Te Waru Rewiri Kura Te Waru Rewiri (born 1950) is a New Zealand artist, academic and educator. Art historian Deidre Brown described her as "one of Aotearoa, New Zealand's most celebrated Māori women artists." Background and education Te Waru Rewiri is the ...

as one of the first graduate students for the degree. After completing her post-graduate studies in Māori visual art, Graham trained as a teacher (Auckland University) and worked at secondary schools in Auckland, including Māori boarding school St Stephens, while continuing to make art. She also worked full time as a Kaihangatoi (Māori art tutor) at Mason Clinic, WDHB, forensic psychiatric services.

Career

Graham's art practice draws on her Māori heritage to explore critical issues that affect New Zealand society such as racism, cultural stereotyping and land rights, particularly the controversial foreshore and seabed legislation. Frequently her works incorporate

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

and Māori motifs. Graham cites her grandmother, Rose Isobel Simons, as a key creative influence on her life. Graham believes that the foreshore and seabed controversy was the issue that gave her the political drive as an artist.

Solo exhibitions

* ''Trouble in Paradise'' at Oedipus Rex Gallery, Auckland, 2004. Graham presented both text and pictorial devices to address the

New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These c ...

. Her imagery included traditional Māori motifs and European numerals. * ''Nga Karetao'' at Oedipus Rex Gallery, Auckland, 2005. This exhibition featured karetao (puppets) carved to represent the MPs holding each of the seven Māori seats in Parliament. * ''Kaitiaki'' at Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland in 2015. * ''Te Waiora'' installation work in Auckland's Britomart precinct.

Group exhibitions

* ''For'' at ASA Gallery, Auckland, 2002. This group show also presented works by Katherine Claypole, Leigh Millward and Louise Stevenson. * ''Hoki-mai'' at Oedipus Rex Gallery, Auckland, 2003. Collaborative exhibition featuring works by Graham and Natasha Keating. Graham presented works in ink and bitumen on paper, using Māori motifs. * ''Porarurau 'CONFUSION 'NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL at Oedipus Rex Gallery, Auckland, 2004. This group show presented works from six Māori artists (three painters and three sculptors) responding to the rising problem of underachievement among Māori students in mainstream schools. The other artists featured were Makareta Jahnke, Manu Scott, Amy Taite, Jason Te Whare and Donna Tupaea. * ''Permissions'' at Lane Gallery, Auckland, 2004. This group show presented works from five Māori women artists offering interpretations on the theme 'permissions.' The other artists were Lonnie Hutchinson, Claudine Muru, Donna Tupaea and Kate Pie. Graham's works in this show explore permissions as a birthright afforded Māori as

tangata whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that literally means "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people as a whole. Etymology Accordi ...

, with reference to the Crown's actions regarding the foreshore and seabed legislation. She incorporates Treaty of Waitangi text and Māori narratives to condemn the legislation and how it impinges on birthrights for Māori. * ''Workshop Style'' at Taketake Gallery, Whakatane, 2004. This exhibition presented a selection of works by young Māori artists in a variety of mediums. Other artists presented included

Rangi Kipa Rangi Kipa (born 1966) is a New Zealand sculptor, carver, illustrator and tā moko (traditional Māori tattoo) artist. Education Kipa is a graduate of the Maraeroa Carving School in Porirua (1986), and completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences at ...

, Claudine Muru, Natalie Robertson, Aimee Ratana, Donna Tupaea and Andrea Hopkins. * ''Work on Paper'' at George Perry Gallery,

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, 2004. This group exhibition presented works from eight New Zealand artists who work on paper. Graham presented a series of four works which made political statements such as "Miti mai te arero na te mea, tipi ra i te whenua" ("Sharpen you tongue for the land continues to depart"). * ''Nga Maunga Toi o Matariki'' at Lopdell House Gallery,

Titirangi Titirangi is a suburb of West Auckland in the Waitākere Ranges local board area of the city of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is an affluent, residential suburb located 13 kilometres (8 miles) to the southwest of the Auckland city centre ...

, Auckland in 2005. This exhibition celebrated

Matariki ), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...

, and featured works by

Robyn Kahukiwa Robyn Kahukiwa (born 1938) is an Australian-born New Zealand artist, award-winning children's book author, and illustrator. Kahukiwa has created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures. Life Kahukiwa was b ...

, Priscilla Cowie and James Webster. * ''Tikitiki'' at Lane Gallery, Auckland, 2005. This group show of ten contemporary Māori artists explored the imagery of

tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden ...

in all its varied representations. Other artists included Jodi Coromandel Tautari, Donna Tupaea, Julie Kipa, Aimee Ratana,

Christina Wirihana Christina Hurihia Wirihana (b 1949) is a New Zealand weaver from Te Arawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rangiunora, Ngāti Raukawa, Tainui iwi. Biography Wirihana was born in Rotorua in 1949. Her mother is the renowned weaver Mateki ...

, Saffronn Te Ratana and Ngataiharuru Taepa. * ''Atamira: Māori in the City'' at the ASB Showgrounds, Auckland in 2007. * ''The Kauri Project: Poster Series'' at Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland in 2014. * ''He Tirohanga ki Tai: Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery'' at Tairāwhiti Museum, Gisborne in 2018. This group show presented works challenging perceptions around James Cook's "

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

" of New Zealand. * '' Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art'' at Auckland Art Gallery, 2020-2021. Graham has an interactive work called ''Te Hau Whakaroa (2020)''

Awards and residencies

* ''Fundación Mar Adentro'' residency recipient in Bosque Peheun, Chile, May 2017. The Fundación Mar Adentro is a private foundation based in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile, which aims to promote natural and cultural heritage in society.

Personal life

Graham's has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Charlotte 1972 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand women artists People educated at Mount Roskill Grammar School Massey University alumni