The title of this work, a quote from constitutional lawyer and visionary Moana Jackson, is the core of Te Tiriti. Of the more than 500 signatories of Te Tiriti, only 39 signed the English version. Sovereignty was not ceded.

It would be easy to write some angry rhetoric re the forces that are trying to compromise our founding document and disenfranchise indigenous people globally. But the overarching expectations of behaviour on any of the Hikoi in support of Te Tiriti have been dignity, compassion, kindness and peace.

Kotahitanga.

While wrestling with mixed feelings over the challenges Te Tiriti is facing, this work emerged. It’s born of a commitment to not cede my profession to a grey, gulag, ‘one size fits all’ mentality. The work is not representative in any way. It is form, space, colour, texture, and relationships. It exists to confound, to cause the viewer to consider possibilities beyond the mundane. It does not provide answers, but hopefully will encourage deeper, honest, and diverse investigation, especially into Tiriti.