“The Hundertwasser Art Centre project is all about Whangarei, Māori and Hundertwasser, so I wanted to produce an image that had all these elements in it using lively Hundertwasser colours”.
- Dick Frizzell

It was Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s express wish that the Wairau Māori Art Gallery be housed within the Hundertwasser Art Centre. He felt it would be a great basis for conversation, co-operation and understanding between Pakeha and Māori with art as the subject.

The Wairau Māori Art Gallery Board agree: “Image making by pakeha of Māori has often been contentious. While most accept Gottfried Lindauer’s portrayals of our ancestors in the Māori paintings, others might have different views in relation to contemporary art practice by pakeha artists. The Hundertwasser Art Centre and the Wairau Māori Art Gallery provide a platform for these kinds of discussions.”