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Sofia Minson's new oil paintings at Parnell Gallery include contemporary black and white Maori portraits as well as Sofia Minson's new oil paintings at Parnell Gallery include contemporary black and white Maori portraits as well as mystical New Zealand landscapes with native birds and intricately carved waka.  

 Two of Minson's portraits take centre stage - they are large-scale oil paintings of New Zealand musician Tiki Taane with painted face moko. The powerful close-up images bring clearly to view the connection he forges between himself and his whakapapa. The paintings have been works-in-progress for 12 months since Minson photographed Taane in her Auckland art studio, marking the beginning of her painting process.

Minson explains how she and the chart-topping musician came to know each other: "We were in the same issue of Mana Magazine a few years ago and Tiki emailed me to say that he liked my art and perhaps we could think of a way to collaborate together in the future, through album artwork or merchandise for his music. I think of this portrait as a collaboration because the paintings are so full of Tiki's story and his presence, which comes through his Ta Moko and the intensity of his eyes."

Minson's mixed Maori (Ngati Porou), Swedish, English and Irish ancestry has sparked her interest in how we relate to the culture of our ancestors in a contemporary world.

Taane has worn his moko previously as artwork: inspired by C.F. Goldie portraits, he presents himself with full facial moko on the cover of his Past, Present, Future album.

Since his arrested in April 2011 for singing "f*** the police" at a Tauranga nightclub, Minson says "Tiki must have found the media and legal spotlight challenging to deal with but he kept a positive attitude. As a fellow artist I admire his strength coming out with a new song "Freedom To Sing" and a new album "In The World of Light" as he's proving his creativity and inspiration is more powerful than ever. I feel there is no better time than now to create this portrait. In this painting he proudly wears his moko, an outward sign of his inner growth and resilience."

Sofia Minson's exhibition at Parnell Gallery runs until December 6th

Click here to view images of the opening night