Māori contemporary visual artist Hemi Macgregor’s practice encompasses sculpture, painting, installation, video, and public art. His sculptural works often re-present and repurpose everyday objects. Indigenous relationships and collaborative projects are cultural tenants in Macgregor’s work. He has established strong indigenous networks through art and creativity. Outside of his individual practice, Macgregor has worked with artists Saffronn Te Ratana and Ngataiharuru Taepa to create various installations.

Macgregor’s paintings “aim to inspire viewers to reflect on our interconnectedness with the sky, the earth, the oceans and rivers, and to begin to re-establish our relationship with the atua (Māori spiritual ancestors)”. Patikitiki, and other new works by Macgregor, feature a patiki pattern (a diamond form) as their central motif. It reflects the shape of the flounder and suggests the abundance and prosperity of food gathering and storage. It has specific links to the celestial calendar and the environment. Macgregor states “patikitiki (the Coal-Sack nebula) begins rising before the sun at dawn and is the marker of the abundance of the spring and summer months.”

Hemi Macgregor (born 1975, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūhoe) completed a Master of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University in 2006. He is currently based on the Kapiti Coast and is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University Wellington where he teaches undergraduate papers and the Master of Fine Arts programmes. Macgregor continues to create works and actively exhibit around Aotearoa New Zealand.