Emily Karaka

"Politics is life is art is life is politics. It's all interwoven, like a whāriki, like a mat."

"Activism to bring political or social change is not far from my mind when I paint. I like to discuss and, if necessary, confront matters that I consider need discussion or redress. I do not and cannot separate my painting from my moral and ethical motives. They are one and the same. They (ideas, values) feed into each other when I work, giving me the platform to express being a Māori woman in New Zealand."

"The Treaty will always be the basis of my work. The issues I'm always discussing are economic, social and environmental... back into the basis of justice in our country, the covenant of the country, the korowai of the country."

"The issues that I’m always discussing are economic, social and environmental. And land rights tie back into the basis of justice in our country, the covenant of the country, the korowai of the country. So my imagery is cultural and traditional but it is also contemporary and futuristic."

"My work is centred around the Treaty of Waitangi. It’s to do with rangatiratanga, our atua, our taonga, and rights, living rights, arts and cultural rights."