Paora Tiatoa | A Visit to the British Museum

At Printopia 2022, Paora Tiatoa (Ngā Puhi, Ngati Raukawa) captivated audiences as he shared the inspiration behind his work, his journey from painting to printmaking, the influence of abstract art and contemporary Māori art and the iconography that repeatedly features in his work, including several Taonga in the British Museum Collection.

Now Paora is back to share his first-hand encounter with these Taonga during a recent trip to the British Museum in August 2024. His presentation will touch on the impact this visit has had on his current practice and a peek into where this will take his practice in the future. 

About Paora Tiatoa:

Formerly an abstract shape formation painter, I switched to Contemporary Māori art in my third year of study at art school. The last 5 years I combined the two art forms creating what I call ACMA – Abstract Contemporary Māori Art.

My new 100 series of work reveals this process in finer detail, although my new prints look like one pass hand screen prints, the aesthetic process is not. My images are scattered on 13 screens, all my images are from a book Taonga Māori in the British museum. Minus two images on two screens which are personal screens to me but have used in this series.

I then abstract, make stencils, assemble, construct and make multi-individual passes of ink to produce the final image. It’s labour intensive but the outcome is worth it.

Instagram: @paorasprints

Note: You can meet Paora at the Print Fair, where he’ll have a selection of his prints for purchase. Friday 2 May – Sunday 4 May.