Tui Hobson “Va’ine Warrior” Sculpture and Carvings Exhibition Pride 2025

Tamaki Makaurau artist Tui Hobson’s latest exhibition at The Charlotte Museum draws on her Cook Island heritage and has an emphasis on the feminine form.

The exhibition is a look back on a sculpture career that has spanned 3 decades and includes pieces from works created in the 1990s through to the present day. Tui began carving female nudes in a relief format and progressed to sculpting freestanding works that range from small-scale pieces to large outdoor works.

Tui works in recycled native woods, stone, cast glass and, most recently, in bronze. Alongside the androgenous and feminine forms that are present in much of her work we see the enduring influence of the Pacific Islands, in particular the pattern of tivaevae, an art in which Tui’s grandmother was an expert practitioner.

Themes of navigation and migration are evident too in many of Tui’s pieces and the exhibition will include examples of her intricately patterned Pacific oars and vaka-shaped benches. Tui has undertaken commissions and residencies in NZ and internationally.

Her public outdoor works include carved seats for the Le Quesnoy commemorative gardens in Northern France and most recently a carved pou for the gardens of a Tamaki Makaurau rehabilitation centre.

Kick off pride by stopping in for this exhibition opening on February 1st. We will be holding an artist talk with Tui Hobson on February 22nd, a lovely opportunity to hear in Tui’s own words where her inspiration comes from.