Tawhai Rickard, The Misadventures of Te Kuri

In The Misadventures of Te Kuri artist Tawhai Rickard adapts to Marty super heroes derived from 1960s American pop culture. Rickard‘s Batman figure, Te Kuri and Robin navigate their way through historical and contemporary landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand often in the face of adversity and antagonism. Their journeys frequently transcend time and place through the injection of notable characters events vernacular and symbolism allowing Rickard to present an agile and Quirky critical commentary on numerous events across our post colonial history. 

Nau mai haere mai,  welcome to the lair of Te Kuri! 

 

Biography

Tawhai Rickard was born in Gisborne in 1968 of Ngati Porou decent and raised in Ruatoria, East Coast. His work explores the historical and contemporary concepts of bi cultural New Zealand through the events of Captain James Cooks landing in Turanganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) over 250 years ago.

His medium is predominately paint and whakairo (carving) using reclaimed wood. Rickard was the supreme award winner of the 2018 Miles Art Award at Tauranga Art Gallery and inaugural winner of the 2016 Te Hā art awards in Gisborne, Tairawhiti. 

Tawhai has been invited to present works at the 2022 Aotearoa Art Fair, in Auckland this March, represented by PAULNACHE - so stay tuned!