Peter Robinson is an important figure in the wave of second generation Māori artists that emerged in the late eighties from the School of Fine Arts (Ilam) at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Robinson was born in Ashburton, Canterbury in 1966, and currently lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand. Well known in New Zealand for dealing with issues such as race relations in a provocative and controversial manner, Peter Robinson's practice has been characterised by elements of shock and surprise. He has continually shifted tack throughout his career in his use of materials and techniques and the content he addresses.
Read MoreHis work seems to exist in a constant state of flux and change and his subject matter also appears to swing between an articulation of intellectual ideas and pop culture but certain forms and ideas run through his practice. Originally trained as a sculptor, he has also worked in painting, drawing, installation and digital media. His style has varied from rough hand written text on placards to the slick, clean aesthetic of digital prints.
Robinson's early works were concerned with personal and racial issues as he analysed and responded to his part-Maori heritage. He used painting and sculpture to wittily critique assumed aspects of bi-culturalism, the branding of ethnicity, and careerist strategizing - while simultaneously embracing them. He created a series known as the Percentage Paintings in the early 1990s that discussed his specific racial make-up. The works posed the question to the viewer – should a percentage of Maori blood determine his personal and social character, and his importance as an artist? He found that art critics began to stereotype him as a Maori artist but that personally he was not able to work in traditional Maori forms because this felt 'inauthentic'. Recognising this he changed direction and shocked art critics by adopting both Pakeha (non-Maori) and Maori voices often in a contradictory way. From this bi-cultural perspective Robinson could incisively comment on the complexities of race relations, both historical and contemporary, in New Zealand.
In 2001 Robinson and Jacqueline Fraser represented New Zealand in the 49th Venice Biennale; in 2008 he won the Walters Prize with a polystyrene installation blending Wittgenstein’s famous duck-rabbit diagram with a white worm with webbed feet; and in 2009 he filled the Govett-Brewster Gallery with a huge polystyrene elaboration of white chains, turning them into tumbling glacial forms. Robinson continues to explore installation and painting as a means of drawing. He is represented with works in the main Australasian collections and in the Lyon Museum of Modern Art.
