Brownlee wins with art of politics

By NATASHA HARRIS

It was billed as "Meet the Prick" but National Party Maori Affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee laughed Tame Iti's insult off at the opening of the Maori activist's art exhibition last night, saying he was glad he came.

Mr Brownlee looked bemused and slightly nervous as Iti, sporting a mohawk hairstyle and ripped camouflage pants, showed him his 98 art works at the packed Gallery Salmonroot in Karangahape Rd.

Iti, a Tuhoe artist and activist, had last week asked Mr Brownlee to open his exhibition, not telling him the opening had been advertised as "Meet the Prick".

But rather than being bamboozled with questions about Maori-Pakeha relations, Mr Brownlee was able to sip his wine and chat to Iti largely uninterrupted.

He even went on to tell the crowd: "I'm delighted to see a lot of Tame's work is done in blue and it's even better that it's similar to the blue National uses."

He later told the Herald he was glad he came, although he had no idea what was going to happen. He described Iti's art as "different and expressive".

Iti jokingly asked the MP to ask Parliament if he could pay a fine with art and said he was pleased with the MP's appearance. He wanted to "feel" what Mr Brownlee thought about Maori issues and his strategy of getting lots of people to come to his exhibition had worked.

"I knew people would think, 'what's this all about?' when I asked Gerry to come along and they would then come to see my art. I'm impressed - I'd give him eight out of 10," he said.

Iti's exhibition, focusing on the state of the nation, can be seen at Gallery Salmonroot on Karangahape Rd.