In episode 6, Better Ancestors explores the daring public and political art of Sam Mahon. Throughout his career, Sam has harnessed public attention and created controversy with his paintings, writings, sculpture, and public protesting, all in the name of revealing the truth about the sorry state of New Zealand’s waterways. Over just the last few decades, New Zealand’s freshwater has gone from some of the cleanest, to some of the most polluted and toxic in the world, both as a result of agricultural run-off and urban waste dumping. In the face of such environmental degradation, bold art can bring the awareness to an issue in ways that traditional avenues can’t, and no one knows better how to do this than Sam Mahon.

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