Palmerston North artist and poet John Christeller. Behind him is a painting by Yvonne Rust, a friend of his mother Flora. Photo / Judith Lacy
Palmerston North artist and poet John Christeller. Behind him is a painting by Yvonne Rust, a friend of his mother Flora. Photo / Judith Lacy
The pā paddock wore a blanket of thistles and a heavy sprinkling of sheep pallets.
Those lines are part of John Christeller's poem about Puketakauere Pa, the site of an 1860 New Zealand Wars battle.
The Palmerston North poem and artist has penned poems in English and te reo Māori about 18 New Zealand Wars sites and created a series of woodblock prints reflecting his observations from his visits last year.
Shared Histories was published in time for his exhibition at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History in Masterton.
Christeller hopes his work will prompt conversations about the battle sites, which New Zealanders drive past every day often without knowledge or reflection.
"I think it raises more questions than answers, which is what it is intended to do."
Some of the sites were not easy to find and at only two did he see anyone else.
The other two prints in the book are Te Uru Karaka in Palmerston North, where iwi "jostled for space in pre-musket days", and Bastion Point in Auckland.
Christeller says Shared Histories fits really well with the new New Zealand history curriculum.
His journey to explore New Zealand Wars sites had its genesis about 20 years ago when he saw a woodblock print by Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua.
WalkingStick's monochrome print of a hilltop with a dry wind blowing grass depicts the site of a battle where her people lost their land. It had a strong and lasting emotional effect on him.
It was not until last year Christeller thought he had the time to depict New Zealand battle sites.
"I did it because it had been sitting around in my head for 20-odd years and if I didn't do it now I wouldn't do it at all."
The 74-year-old is not in good health.
Christeller is fluent in te reo Māori but aware he is a Pākekā and not a historian. Christeller appears in some poems but not in others.
"The title of my work refers to the different stories told by the protagonists of these battles. Both are true. Reconciliation means acceptance of this proposition."
John Christeller with his woodblock print of Te Uru Karaka, the site of a circa 1820 battle between Rangitāne and Ngāti Apa. He cut on A4 blocks and printed on A3 harakeke paper. Photo / Judith Lacy
Printmaking means making strong decisions about what is going to be printed and what spaces will be left open. He realised if he wanted the natural colour for every print he would end up with a "boring" green exhibition as grass and trees dominate the landscapes. Instead, he went for a range of bright colours.
Christeller was principal scientist at Plant & Food Research. His career as a plant and insect scientist took him to Japan, the United States, and Europe.
He was born in Christchurch, growing up in Hawke's Bay and Upper Hutt. His middle name is Tāne, which he says indicates a certain liberal view of his parents. His maternal grandfather, a shepherd, spoke fluent te reo Māori.
His twin brother's middle name is Rewi after social reformer and peace activist Rewi Alley.
The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography records Alley was named on the wish of his aunt, who had great admiration for Rewi Maniapoto, a Ngāti Maniapoto leader.
Christeller's German-born father Gerhart was a baritone who returned to Europe several times to develop his singing career. He was also a senior lecturer in the German department at the Victoria University of Wellington.
Christeller says he was exposed to art from birth. His mother Flora, nee McDonald, was a potter. A fine arts graduate, she taught art at Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay and Christeller remembers kilns on their front lawn.
The only tuition he has had was a week-long woodblock printing course taken by Marion Webb about 20 years ago. He was a screenprinter but after that course fell in love with woodblocking.
