Te wheke means octopus in te reo Maori. For many cultures the Pacific Ocean, this resourceful, adventurous creature is a symbol of early voyages from the Polynesian homelands of Hawaiki. In Aotearoa New Zealand, conventional art history tells the stories of art that ties us to Britain and Europe. This book looks in a different direction - from the Pacific outwards.
Te Wheke features a selection of excellent examples of art from Aotearoa and the Pacific, each with a short text opening up conversations about the journeys, tensions and connections that shape Oceania's past, present and future.