Toia mai te waka

Original painting SOLD, oil on canvas, 550 x 1500mm, 2011

Explore the story of the artwork >>

Print sizes and editions (limited to 275)

• Regular museum archival paper print - 300 x 818mm

Your unique limited edition fine art print

1. Sofia Minson creates your exclusive signed print
2. We ship for $25 in NZ and from $50 internationally
3. Your artwork arrives rolled, ready to be framed - do you need help? Request framing guidance

The story of Toia mai te waka

"Toia Mai Te Waka" means "pull up, the canoe" and is part of an ancient canoe-hauling chant.  Now it is most often chanted as a 'haka pōwhiri' to symbolically pull the 'canoe' of the visitors safely onto the marae.

This painting is a symbol of the arrival of humans to Aotearoa. Two huia birds, a now-extinct native species, are watching the unfamiliar vessel as they perch on a branch next to a native kaka beak flower.  

Sofia was inspired by the legend of Kupe, the great Polynesian navigator. Kupe is said to have journeyed from Hawaiiki, the mythical ancestral homeland of the Maori, to become the first person to discover Aotearoa. Matahorua was the name of his great ocean going vessel and it is pictured in this painting with an intricately carved bow piece, resting upon the shores of Aotearoa after its immense journey.

Select your print >>

Sofia Minson Paintings | New Zealand Artwork