Brett Graham (born 1967) is a New Zealand sculptor who creates large scale artworks and installations that explore indigenous histories, politics and philosophies. ''Snitch'' from 2014, in the collection of the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single co ...

, references the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie ''

Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 42nd Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Chris Sande ...

''. It is an example of the artist's combining traditional Maori carving with contemporary themes. Brett Graham used recycled rubber tires and steel to make sculptures and they were called “Weapons of Mass Destruction”. Graham’s sculpture “Te Hokioi” was created because of the 2007 police raids on the Tuhoe community of Ruatoki.

Education

Graham is a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

(

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

, 1988), a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

(

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, 1991) and a

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent level ...

(

, 2005).

International exhibitions

Graham's work was included in the following international exhibitions. * 1996 –

Asia Pacific Triennial The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an art museum located within the Queensland Cultural Centre in the South Bank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. GOMA, which opened on 2 December 2006, is the larges ...

, Queensland Art Gallery * 2001 – ''Purangiaho Seeing Clearly'', Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki * 2001 – ''Parihaka'': The Art of Passive Resistance, City Gallery Wellington * 2006 –

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales a ...

* 2007 –

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

* 2010 –

* 2017 –

Honolulu Biennial Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island of ...

Major collections and public commissions

Graham has received a number of important commissions and his work is held in a number of international collections *

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

* Kahukura,,

Tjibaou Cultural Centre The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre (french: Centre culturel Tjibaou), on the narrow Tinu Peninsula, approximately northeast of the historic centre of Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, celebrates the vernacular Kanak culture, the indi ...

, New Caledonia * Whaowhia, for the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auck ...

* ''Kaiwhakatere'', Parliament precinct, Wellington Kaiwhakatere The Navigator Brett Graham-008

* Rawhiti, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University * ''Kowhatu Karohiroh''i, Victoria University Collection * ''Escape,'' North Shore Court House

Personal life

Ngāti Korokī Kahukura Ngāti Korokī Kahukura is a Māori iwi of the Maungatautari area of the Waikato in New Zealand. It was formed by the coming together of two related hapū, Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Kahukura. It has historic affiliations with Ngāti Raukawa (Nga ...

( Maori tribe) and Pakeha (European) descent, Graham was born in Auckland, New Zealand, where he currently resides.The artist's website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Brett 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand Māori carvers Modern sculptors Ngāti Korokī Kahukura people University of Auckland alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni 1967 births Living people New Zealand contemporary artists