SHANE COTTON

Shane Cotton
1993 – 2003: A Decade in the Making
A decade culminating in a respective exhibition held at City Gallery Wellington and Auckland Art Gallery marks a period of significant importance in Shane Cotton’s career. The works chosen as part of Gow Langsford Gallery’s 1993 – 2003: A Decade in the Making include pivotal early works alongside major works from the early 2000s.

Cotton’s work evocatively includes both Maori iconography and culture, as well as European symbols and items. His paintings explore themes of Christianity, colonialism, cultural identity, Maori spirituality, and life and death.
By the early 1990s’ Cotton’s work had taken on a representational style, influenced by Maori folk art and figurative traditions, as well as referencing the landscapes of Colin McCahon. Displaying a distinctive sepia colour palette both Potted History and Mountain are compositionally and stylistically linked to this period in Cotton’s career.
Later works, first The Pot Calling the Kettle Black then Aria and The Carrier are examples of Cotton’s work becoming both literally and metaphorically darker. These later works feature moko mokai (decorated human heads) and native birds such as tui and target icons, conveying a more dominant message toward colonialism than the softer works of 1993.