Moko - Maori tattooing in the 20th century
by Michael King
hardcover with dustjacket, David Bateman Ltd, 2008, 110 pp

Originally published in 1972, Moko: Maori Tattooing in the 20th Century was a milestone in New Zealand publishing.  Maori subject matter was not thought to be of interest to the New Zealand public at the time, and the author and photographer were relative unknowns.

Michael King and Marti Friedlander travelled together through the hinterland of New Zealand in 1970 to find and speak with those who were tattooed, or with people who had first-hand knowledge of the custom.  King located 71 women who had been given the moko under traditional circumstances, and many of this unique group of Maori women were able to be interviewed and photographed.

For some, their moko dated back into the last years of the nineteenth century and was applied in the traditional way, with a chisel.  Others were part of a brief resurgence in the art in the 1930s and 1940s, where needle tattooing was more common.

This superb new edition reproduces the photographs from the original prints created by Marti Friedlander.  These images illustrate with skill and compassion the moko itself, the women who wore it, and the environments in which they lived.