Robin Slow (born c. 1948) is a New Zealand Māori painter based in

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 runs through Takaka and follows the river valley b ...

and a retired art teacher.

Early life and family

Slow was born in Wairau, Blenheim. He went to primary school in Wairau, where a visiting art teacher

Cliff Whiting Clifford Hamilton Whiting (6 May 1936 – 16 July 2017) was a New Zealand artist, teacher and advocate for Māori heritage. Career In 1955, Whiting began teacher training at Wellington Teachers' College where his artistic talents were quickly ...

inspired him with a lesson on a Māori story about the beginning of carving. He later moved to Christchurch and completed his high school education at

Christchurch West High School Christchurch West High School (originally Christchurch Academy then High School of Christchurch and then West Christchurch Borough School) existed prior to 1966 on the site of Hagley College in Hagley Avenue, in Christchurch, New Zealand. In that ...

. Then, while working as a commercial artist to support himself, he completed his Diploma of Teaching with an art major at

Christchurch Teachers' College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

. He married and with his wife Rose had two children.

Teaching

Slow moved with his family to Twizel where he began teaching new entrants. In the early 1980s he took up a two-year contract at Golden Bay High School, going on to teach there for a total 31 years. To begin with here he faced resistance to including Māori cultural elements such as

kowhaiwhai The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the ide ...

, but he persisted. Although he retired in 2013, he has continued to teach informally at Onetahua Marae.

Art

Even while teaching fulltime, Slow continued to produce art prolifically, often teaching by day and painting by night, and producing thousands of works through his career. At first these paintings piled up on the studio floor until a family member saw them and organised an exhibition in Wellington. Since this, his work has been shown in hundreds of solo and group exhibitions throughout New Zealand. In collaboration with

Brian Flintoff Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

and Bob Bickerton, the exhibition Ngā Hau Ngākau travelled around the country over the course of several years. One of his solo works was produced for a visit by Queen Beatrix in 2013, and another for the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

who visited in 2018. His visual art is steeped in Māori symbology and mythology. He weaves a strong element of story-telling into his work, often incorporating birds as the original people of the country. He sees the interconnectedness of everything in life as fundamental to Māori art, and painting is the way he makes sense of the world. He has also used his art as a way of "dealing with his own whakapapa" which is unknown. He cites Onetahua as an influence in his work: "the area, the people, the natural resources and the protection of them, the histories and stories". He also references the influence of Whero O Te Rangi Bailey on his exhibition about Parihaka: an elder at Parihaka and a teacher and weaver, she was known for sharing the history of Parihaka. Since 1991, Slow worked with the community at Onetahua Marae producing murals, traditional instruments, kowhaiwhai, and carving. He and his wife Rose helped build the wharenui Te Ao Marama. He had overall responsibility for the design and layout of the wharenui. Working with visitors from throughout New Zealand and the world, much of this and subsequent work was completed on a community basis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slow, Robin New Zealand painters New Zealand Māori artists New Zealand artists 1940s births Year of birth uncertain Living people People from Blenheim, New Zealand