Journeys with Mai: British Visions and Pacific Voices through 18th Century Art

‘Journeys with Mai’ (on display at The Box until 14 June 2026) tells the story of Mai, a young man from Ra‘iātea. He travelled to Britain after joining Captain Cook’s second voyage in the 1770s. On these voyages of discovery – which were key to the expansion of the British Empire – were botanists, scientists and for the first time, artists. The art that followed played a role in shaping how Europeans perceived the people and cultures from the South Pacific.

We're taking a look at some of the work of 18th‑century artists who influenced how Britain first pictured Mai and the South Pacific Islands. These works are displayed in North Gallery, with delicate watercolours by one of Mai’s Ra‘iātean compatriots, giving a contrasting South Islander view of these historic encounters.

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792)

Plympton-born Reynolds had a studio in London at the time of Mai’s visit. As Mai’s celebrity grew, he decided to paint Mai there, without a commission. As Britain’s leading portrait painter and founder of the Royal Academy, his 1776 Portrait of Mai is the central artwork of the exhibition. It’s the key to re‑examining representation, power, and how British art framed Pacific subjects.

Reynolds cast Mai in a classical pose that was usually reserved for aristocracy, symbolising nobility and virtue. Here, Mai is presented through European ideals of beauty and civilisation. Mililani Ganivet said in discussing the work: “While Mai was in London, he was actually a celebrity. And it’s not surprising that Reynolds captured his graceful confidence and his charismatic authority that people often commented on.”

Mai wore European clothes whilst in London, but he chose to wear traditional tapa (bark cloth) in the portrait. Contemporary research now interprets the tapa, tattoos and stance as Mai’s own assertions of cultural identity, which challenges the idea that Reynolds was ‘constructing’ Mai.

In North Gallery, there are further works by Reynolds, including his self-portrait from 1746 which is in The Box collection, and other influential figures that are part of Mai’s time in London: Sir Joseph Banks (naturalist and botanist and hosted Mai), Charles Burney (who hosted Mai). You’ll also find a drawing based on Portrait of Mai by Elizabeth Peyton, an artist who was art of the NPG and Art Fund campaign to save the work for the nation.

William Hodges (1744–1797)

A number of engravings in the exhibition are based on Hodges’ work. As an artist on Cook’s second voyage, Hodges created many of the early images of Pacific landscapes, people and ceremonies. He represents the “official” British visual record of the Pacific at this time and created some of the earliest European portraits of Pacific leaders (Patatau, Tu/Pōmare I, Honu) and records of their cultural practices.

His drawings were reproduced widely, as can be seen in the number of prints in this gallery. His work influenced European understanding of the Pacific. Together with written descriptions of South Pacific Islands people by voyage scientist George Forster, they highlight the way that cultural and physical differences were used to categorise and racialise people. Portraits of women were drawn based on the male perspective and using the perceptions of Western beauty of the time.

Sydney Parkinson (1745–1771)

Thousands of drawings including plants and cultural scenes were recorded by Parkinson, a botanical and ethnographic artist on Cook’s first voyage. He produced scientifically accurate drawings designed to classify flora and human cultures. These drawings helped introduce previously unknown specimens, informing other work by artists based in Britain, such as the watercolour on paper of Banksia ericifolia by John Frederick Miller (1759-1796).

His work informed the colonial collecting, renaming (erasing indigenous plant names) and transporting Pacific species. In works such as the engraving An heiva, or kind of priest of Yoolee-Etea, & the neighbouring islands, early encounters were often exoticised and shown from a European documentary viewpoint.

Tupaia (c1725-1770)

As a contrast to the British artists in this section, there are delicate watercolour works of Tupaia on display from the British Museum. Tupaia’s images provide a counterbalance to European thinking at the time, giving perspective into South Pacific people’s expertise and experience.

As a high priest, star navigator, diplomat and artist from Ra‘iātea, he created the only surviving Tahitian visual records of early cross‑cultural encounters. He acted as interpreter and cultural mediator, guiding Cook through the Pacific and helping him to create the first accurate charts of New Zealand.

His works capture Tahitian daily life, musicians, ceremonies, and exchanges with Europeans from within his own culture. They're drawn with a spontaneity that contrasts with the often stiff detail that was required of the artists who travelled on the voyages. Likewise, his navigational chart was made to share knowledge with Cook, but was misunderstood and overlooked.

The exhibition is free and on display until 14 June 2026. If you'd like to visit, we encourage you to book a free ticket in advance along with our Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy exhibition.