Mai i te pō ki the ao mārama - From the darkness into the enlightened world

Original paining by Josh Kiwikiwi

Acrylic, mixed media, flashe, aerosol & gold leaf on museum grade stretched canvas 850x1200mm (framed)

This work speaks of emergence  from challenge into clarity, from obscurity into understanding, from silence into expression. The wahine at its centre embodies this transition, carrying the strength of whakapapa as she moves with grace into the light. Her presence reminds us that identity is never left behind in the shadows, but revealed more vividly as we step forward. The surrounding darkness is not absence but origin — a space of memory and potential. From it, colour and light spread across her face and shoulders, illuminating moko, woven textures, and the vibrancy of te ao Māori. Her journey mirrors both the collective reclamation of culture and the artist’s own path moving from uncertainty into confidence, from searching into belonging, from learning into becoming.

Mai i te pō ki te ao mārama speaks to resilience and renewal. It is both a portrait of a wahine as pou — strong, guiding, and luminous — and a reflection of the artist’s own journey in reclaiming stories, tikanga, and identity through art. Like her, he continues to move into the light, carrying the past as both anchor and guide.

Also available as limited edition prints on my website.

This work is currently unavailable as it is entered into an art award/exhibition.

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