Shane Cotton

Anthony Byrt, a son of Te Tai Tokerau, weaves together multiple lines of whakapapa in his latest book about his whanaunga, Shane Cotton. It is simultaneously a history book, an art book, a whakapapa book, an autobiography, which together demonstrate the richness and diversity of Cotton’s practice, and Byrt’s power to engage the audience on different levels. Troubling and engaging, Shane Cotton will leave the reader wanting to do their own tour of the North following the paths of the artworks.

-- Professor Ngarino Ellis, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland

A compelling meditation on contemporary art, ancestry and place, this book traces in Shane Cotton’s painting a language equal to the deep time of Te Tai Tokerau, the far north of Aotearoa New Zealand. From local road trips taken with the artist to mapping his participation in global conversations about indigeneity, Anthony Byrt writes about Cotton’s work with intelligence and wit. The result is an approach to one of New Zealand’s most important living artists that’s both grounded and expansive, and which locates a starting point for creativity at the magic place “where sky and sea meet”.

-- Lara Strongman, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

This book is a revelation. It documents more than three decades of Cotton’s work, brilliantly illuminated by Byrt’s text. Probing the history of colonial resistance in the North, where both are from, it goes to the heart of what made this country what it is today. It will shake you up. It shook me up.

-- Professor Peter Brunt, Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellin