Mahiriki Tangaroa graduated from Ilam School of Fine Arts, Canterbury University, New Zealand in 1997. Finding inspiration in pre-colonial artefacts, legend and folklore, her research centres on the Cook Islands God of the Ocean, Tangaroa, the God of Agriculture and War, Rongo, and the unnamed Aitutaki goddess. Her works primarily address social evolution and identity from a contemporary Pacific perspective.
She has an engaging style of painting, as curator Arthur Buerms noted in 2019. 'Each of the paintings is a visual feast catapulting you to a campfire where old stories, about the dangerous heights of the mysterious mountains, the spirits of the ever- encircling sea, the expressive radiance of the fauna and flora, are told while dancing and eating. The evolution of her artwork can be read as a metaphorical voyage: Tangaroa's (the Gods) journey, a voyage of the Cook Islands as a constructed nation and her own personal voyage as a driving force in modern Pacific art.'
Mahiriki Tangaroa's recent paintings have addressed multiple social issues surrounding the Cook Islands community. The Cook Islands nation itself is in a transitional phase, as its modern day identity evolves and seeks to reconcile with its past. Her major 2019 solo show Earth, Wind & Fire….Irrespective of Place, questioned the nature and evolution of Cook Islands culture in a contemporary timeline, with specific reference to the ongoing debate of a country name change away from the colonially tainted 'Cook Islands' to a more culturally appropriate identity.
For 25 years, Mahiriki Tangaroa has been a catalyst for Rarotonga's contemporary art identity, exhibiting regularly and organizing international artist residencies and training workshops for established and aspiring artists and exhibiting both domestically and internationally. Her extensive exhibition history includes shows in Rarotonga, Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Sydney, New York City, Stockholm & Venice.