20 years after his first visit to New Zealand, Jersey-based photographer and teacher Martin Toft returned to the North Island to explore the “deep physical and metaphysical relationships” between Whanganui River and the Māori in photographs.
Pictured: Photographer Martin Toft first visited New Zealand in 1996.
Martin returned 22 years later to rekindle the “spiritual kinship” he had experienced, translating that into his book ‘Te Ahi Kā – The Fires of Occupation’.
It explores the current Whanganui River Deed of Settlement, Ruruku Whakatupua, and the projects led by local Māori to settle historical grievances with the government.
At the heart of the book is the Whanganui tribes’ claim to the river, which is seen by them as both as an ancestor and as a source of both material and spiritual sustenance.
Pictured: Te Ahi Kā is available in two different covers.
Whanganui River is the lifeblood of the Māori and the tribes take their name, their spirit and their strength from it. In his book, Martin wanted to explore the deep physical and metaphysical relationships between the river and the Māori.
Edited by Rafal Milach and designed by Ania Nałęcka-Milach, the book was shortlisted for the Kassel Dummy Award 2018. It consists of 89 colour and black and white photographs spanning from 1885 to 2017, including rare images held in 19th and 20th century collections in New Zealand and vernacular images from Māori family albums.
