Mat Tait is a South Island-based illustrator of European and Māori descent. He gained a BFA in painting from Ilam School of Arts and now lives and works in the Motueka area. Prior to Te Wehenga, Mat's most recent book was The Adventures of Tupaia with writer Courtney Sina Meredith, for which he was the recipient of the Russell Clark Award for Illustration at the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. His comics work has been published widely both locally and internationally, including The Heading Dog Who Split In Half with writer Dr Michael Brown.Mat is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori. He tutors under the kaupapa of Te Ataarangi, and continues to learn.