David Teata

David Teata completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts through the Otago School of Art in 2006, majoring in printmaking. In 2008 he achieved a Postgraduate Diploma in Art and Design through AUT. He shares his time between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, researching his genealogy, and the histories and traditions of his ancestors. Through the symbolic use of shapes, patterns and motifs Teata combines traditional and contemporary elements, investigating the fusion of past and present within our current context. His work draws inspiration from the dynamic process of merging, sharing and intersecting that is shaping our multicultural society here in New Zealand.

 

“My work embraces and celebrates the uniqueness of our diverse culture here in New Zealand. It has a strong Polynesian presence, expressed through a fusion of traditional and contemporary elements”.