Colin McCahon

May His light shine (Tau Cross)

May His light shine (Tau Cross) by Colin McCahon

Artwork Detail

This is one of Colin McCahon’s last landscapes of urban Auckland. The idea for the work began from the fact that the artist’s son had almost transformed his parents’ Muriwai home into a nursery for young kumara plants.

As well, the artist was fascinated with the ancient taumata atua (fertility stone) that is named Rongo that rests in Cornwall Park. The stone is a spiritual conduit for a garden’s fecundity. McCahon recognised that Auckland once had extensive kumara gardens because of the region’s fertile volcanic soil.

(Local Atlas, 2004)

Title
May His light shine (Tau Cross)
Artist/creator
Colin McCahon
Production date
1978-1979
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on unstretched canvas
Dimensions
1875 x 2380 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 1980
Accession no
C1994/1/64
Copyright
Copying restrictions apply
Department
New Zealand Art
Display status
Not on display

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