Moko is written by Michael King, one of New Zealand's most celebrated historians, and photographed by Marti Friedlander, one of the country's most eminent photographers. One of New Zealand's iconic books, originally published in 1972, it was a milestone in New Zealand publishing. Maori subject matter was not thought to be of interest to the New Zealand public at that time, and the author and photographer were relative unknowns - Moko was their first book. To research this book, King and Friedlander travelled thousands of kilometres through the hinterland of New Zealand to find and speak with those who were tattooed, or with people who had first-hand knowledge of the custom. It is also the story of the last generation of Maori women who wore the traditional moko. Marti Friedlander's photographs illustrate with skill and compassion the moko itself, the women who wore it and the environments in which they lived.

From a childhood spent in London's rough East End to a half-century in New Zealand photographing winemakers and artists, children and kuia, Marti Friedlander has lived a life marked by adventure, travel, and its fair share of challenges. It is also a life that has been defined by the art of observation and capturing on film. In "Self Portrait," the renowned photographer tells her story for the first time. As clear and unflinching in her prose as she is in her photography, Friedlander describes growing up in a London orphanage, being Jewish, working in a Kensington photography studio, marrying a New Zealander, the challenges of moving to a new country, and a life spent photographing the ordinary and the extraordinary, from balloons and beaches to politicians and protests. She also explains how, with a stranger's eye, she captured the transformation of New Zealand life over the last half century. This is a rich meditation on one woman's photographic journey through the 20th century.