Therese Mangos and John Utanga trace the history and practice of tattooing (tātatau) in the Cook Islands through the ancient oral traditions of its people, reports of often repressive early Western visitors and rich archival material.

More than a survey of times gone by, Patterns of the Past also looks at the renaissance of this art form through the eyes of some its most important contemporary tātatau artists.

Supplemented with over 250 contemporary and historical images of traditional Cook Islands design and heritage art, this is a vivid, beautiful and important work. It provides the first comprehensive examination of Cook Islands tattoo and celebrates how tātatau is impacting on a generation searching for symbols of its own identity.