Richard Lewer is a Kirikiriroa Hamilton born, Melbourne-based, artist. His research and artwork frequently investigates difficult subjects or probes extreme behaviour. But mostly, he is a visual storyteller; painting is how he makes sense of the world. He is a contemporary social realist, with an interest in interrogating what is complex and troubling about our society; as objectively as possible – without a moralising tone.

For his exhibition at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata for the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts in Wellington, Lewer has created a new body of work resulting from his own personal journey learning about the Waikato Wars.

Lewer began researching and making this body of work because he, like many New Zealanders wasn’t taught about the New Zealand Wars when he went through school in Hamilton in the 1980’s. He feels it’s important for all New Zealanders to acknowledge and digest what happened, to help better understand our complex and disputed colonial history. Lewer thinks this will be the most important artwork series he will ever create, as he develops an understanding of the history of the place he comes from and his place within and resulting from that history.