8 - Conclusions

Summary

When Colin McCahon produced his painting I Paul, to you at Ngatimote it was the first step towards an important development in his artistic career. One of the features which became distinctive of McCahon's body of work was his ability to relocate the Christian story in a recognizably Aotearoa New Zealand context. The particular significance of McCahon's Paul was that it was the first painting in which he placed a cast of biblical characters in a New Zealand landscape. Subsequently McCahon explored what it might mean to locate the crucifixion of Jesus amongst the hills of New Zealand. But it was the apostle Paul whom McCahon first positioned in the artist's own country, in solidarity with McCahon's own people. We do not know why he chose first to work with Paul, but whatever the reasons, whether conscious or unconscious, the development seems fitting, because it is Paul who, after Jesus, is acknowledged to be the person most responsible for directing and shaping the way the Christian church has reflected on and articulated its faith. Paul has been called the “second founder of Christianity” and his writings have influenced Christianity more than any other single individual. It therefore seems appropriate that at the earliest stage of his painting of biblical characters McCahon chose first to embed Paul's narrative within the context of New Zealand.