Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, is opening his first solo exhibition on Saturday. Photo / Gavin Odgen
Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, is opening his first solo exhibition on Saturday. Photo / Gavin Odgen
Mr G will open his first solo exhibition this weekend which pays tribute to his ancestors, whānau and Tauranga Moana.
"There is no other thing I would want to do with my art. This is it," Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, said while setting up the exhibition at theTauranga Art Gallery.
"It's an opportunity to share my art journey but it's also honouring my connection to Tauranga Moana."
And that is exactly why he called the exhibition Home, which for Hoete (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Awa) means hononga (connection).
Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, said the exhibition was a visual smorgasbord of Tauranga Moana. Photo / File
As a result of this theme, his whakapapa to Matakana and Motiti islands will be evident through a "large scale visual feast" with a special piece of his grandparents painted on the corrugated iron shed where Hoete's grandfather used to work.
The "legacy" exhibition has taken more than 10 months to create with his style of highly rendered large-scale, spray-painted portraits holding strong messages of identity, Hoete said.
"Identity is a big part of navigating through your life. It is just so satisfying to honour my parents and whānau and my people through my art," he says.
The goal is to re-present Māori portraiture with icons like Goldie or Lindauer guiding him with inspiration through his 15-year-long career.
"But there is one thing I have they didn't and that is hononga, connection to the land which I have being Māori.
"That is what makes an art piece have mana."
Mr G, with his work on a water tank on Mauao. Photo / File
A multisensory experience is also in store for those who attend tomorrow with three different kina dishes such as kina-infused panna cotta, as Hoete hopes to make the popular Māori cuisine the real superstar of the day.
The exhibition was announced as part of Tauranga Art Gallery's 2019 Programme Premiere in conjunction with the Tauranga City Council and gallery director Alice Hutchison said she is proud to help present the "local toanga" from Hoete.
"The works he has created, actively make art in our city accessible to all and explore themes common to all New Zealanders; family, home and identity.
"Graham's 15 years of hard work as an artist and as an advocate for youth and Māori, his pride in his heritage, helps us as a community to appreciate what we share and what connects us to our home – Tauranga Moana."
The Exhibition "Home" exhibition runs from November 9 to February 9 Artist Talk on Saturday 2pm Kina tasting on Saturday from 11am-noon
