Tamat ha's creative campaign PAINTING THE ROWN GREEN!

This Wellington politician's drive for the beehive is off to the flying heart

- Sharon Stephenson

There are those who say that art and politics don’t mix, but Tamatha Paul isn’t one of those people.

The 26-year-old, who could become one of New Zealand’s youngest-ever MPs if she wins the Wellington Central electorate for the Green Party next month, has found a way to combine her twin loves.

The talented artist has sold a number of her original artworks and prints to fund her campaign for the upcoming general election. It’s not the first time her art, which incorporates native birds and plants, has supported her political ambitions – last year, it funded Tamatha’s successful bid for a second term on the Wellington City Council.

“I don’t have spare money to throw at political campaigns, but I have skills and creative talent, so I used those to produce art that also has a political message,” says Tamatha, who is of Ngāti Awa and Waikato Tainui descent.

Growing up, a big inspiration was Māori activist, artist and Celebrity Treasure Island contestant Tāme Iti.

“The way Tāme uses art and symbolism in his work to convey political messages inspired me, and showed me politics does have a place in art.”

The youngest of seven kids, Tamatha was raised in Tokoroa with a grandfather who introduced her to art. “We didn’t have money for toys, but my grandfather turned the garage into a studio where he taught me to draw and paint with whatever we had. Art became a way to express myself.”