Ngahina Belton-Bodsworth (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Toa, Muaūpoko, Rangitāne, English, Scottish, Irish) is a painter whose work is deeply anchored in her bicultural heritage and her relationship with the ocean. Born in Whakatū Nelson and raised on the Kapiti Coast, Ngahina’s connection to Aotearoa’s coastal landscapes has influenced her art profoundly. At thirteen, her family relocated to Naarm Melbourne, where she spent the next decade, later traveling extensively through Europe, America, and the Caribbean. After returning to Aotearoa at twenty-seven, Ngahina’s reconnection to her whakapapa Māori became a central focus of her practice, alongside her engagement with the ocean as a source of inspiration, heritage, and identity.

Ngahina’s paintings reflect a personal journey of reconnection and exploration of Māori identity, infused with Art Historical influences from surrealism, expressionism, and contemporary Māori painters. Beyond art, Ngahina’s practice is shaped by her love of the sea and traditional oceanic practices. Engaging in surfing, voyaging, and gathering kaimoana from a young age, she explores themes of belonging and identity through her proximity to water. Recently, her involvement with Te Toki Voyaging Trust and her research into Māori surfing traditions have deepened her understanding of these ancestral practices, reorienting her approach to both her art and the values embodied within it.

Through storytelling and an intentional display of vulnerability, Ngahina aims to evoke an emotional response or sense of recognition in her audience. Her work is a visual narrative of her ongoing journey to reconcile and celebrate her bicultural identity, inviting viewers into a space where personal and collective histories intersect.


Ngahina is currently completing her Masters in Visual Art at Auckland University of Technology Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau and is a current recipient of the AUT Te Aronui Postgraduate Research Scholarship.

Ngahina Belton-Bodsworth (Born Whakatū Nelson) Lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.