He is an artist. He makes large-scale sculptures and installations that draw on indigenous history, politics and philosophy. He views his Maori ancestry as a Pasifika/Moana identity affiliated with a global network of non-Western peoples. He holds an arts degree from the University of Auckland (1988), to where he returned between 2001 and 2005 to pursue his doctoral studies in the same area, having concluded a master’s degree at the University of Hawaii in 1991. He took part in the biennials of Honolulu (2017), Sidney (2010) and Venice (2007). His individual exhibits include Monument, Two Room Gallery, Auckland (2018); Properties of Peace and Evil, Bartley and Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand (2017); and Brett Graham, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia (2016).