Large scale chalk pastel and acrylic portrait based on imagery from the New Zealand film, Once Were Warriors.

I based this work on the front cover of Alan Duff’s novel, Once Were Warriors. I was primarily attracted to the boldness of design within the tattoo (moko). New Zealand’s indigenous people, the Maori, have traditionally employed ta-moko to represent their personal & ancestral history, i.e. the tattoo has information encoded into it. These would be carved into the skin, causing ridges and furrows not unlike you might see on the surface of wood carving.

Different stages of production

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