“Inspired by my culture… from the weavers of my tupuna”
I am of Māori (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) and pākehā descent.
My māori heritage was and remains important in my life and in my art. After leaving school I studied Contemporary Māori Design at Wellington Polytechnic. It was there that I was honored to have my designs selected to decorate two frosted glass panels for the doors of the No1 Court in the new High Court building then being built in Wellington. They are still there today.
Meeting the man who would become my husband, and the subsequent arrival of my three beautiful tamariki (children), meant that for long periods there was no time or space for my paint and brushes. However, I continued over the years to paint and take art classes when I could. When my children became independent, it then gave me the time and space to paint full time in 2017 in Wellington, New Zealand.
My paintings are a reflection of my indigenous heritage that was gifted to me by tupuna (ancestors). As a child I loved the feeling of being inside our wharenui (decorated meeting house) and remember looking up to the beautiful painted kowhaiwhai panels and taking in each poupou (carved wall posts that represent ancestral figures) by touching them, but what fascinated me the most was the geometric patterns from tukutuku panels (ornamental traditional latticework) and they still do to this day, so when I started painting full time, I painted from tukutuku patterns and then this lead me to painting tāniko patterns, a uniquely Māori variation of whatu (twining) and is used to weave the colourful intricate borders of kakahu (cloak) and kete whakairo (patterned bags).
Being self taught, I researched each pattern before I started to paint and learnt there was meaning and sometimes mythology behind tukutuku, Tāniko and kete whakairo patterns, which made it more meaningful for me and a way to reconnect and discover more about te ao Māori (the Māori world) which is such an important part of who I am and where I come from… tangata whenua.
PAST AND FUTURE EXHIBITIONS
“TAKE SHAPE” Group exhibition at The Poi Room, 17 Osborne St, Newmarket, Auckland, 18th - 28th April 2024.
Whaenua Ūkaipō - Connectedness, Public Trust Office Building, 131-135 Lambton Quay, Wellington, New Zealand, 31 October - 4 November 2020.
Solo exhibition RARANGA, Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand, 18 September - 26 October 2020.
Tika Tonu (Ngāti Kahungunu artists), curated by Dr Sandy Adsitt, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings, New Zealand, 8 August - 1 November 2020.
Craigs Aspiring Art Prize Exhibition, Holy Family Catholic School, Wanaka, New Zealand, 11-14 January 2020.
Playtime - Muse Art Gallery, Havolock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, 28 November - 16 December 2019.
Huakina - to open, Expressions Whirinaki, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. Charity event supporting Victim Support 21 September - 1 December 2019.
The Little Sprouts Charity Art Event + Art Auction. Group show at Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand. Charity event supporting Little Sprouts, 12 - 28 October 2018.
Aho Tapu O Matariki Exhibition. Group show, Kura Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand, 29 June 2018.
The NZ Art Show, TSB Arena, Wellington, New Zealand, 31 May 2018 - 4 June 2018.
Mana Wahine Exhibition. Group exhibition, Wellington, New Zealand, 29th July 2017.
AWARDS
2021 National Contemporary Art Awards finalist, Waikato Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand. 18th September - 28th November 2021.
BOOK COVERS
Treaty Law: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in Law and Practice. Authors Damen Ward (Crown Law), Kevin Hille (Canada) and Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Wānanga o Raukawa). Published by Thompson Reuters - 2023.
Waking the Taniwha - Māori Governance in the 21st Century. Richard Benton and Robert Joseph general editors. published by Thompson Reuters - 2021.
Māori Phrase a Day by Hemi Kelly. Published by Penguin Random House NZ - 2020.
Māori Word A Day by Hemi Kelly. published by Penguin Random House NZ - 2018.
GALLERIES
The Poi Room
Newmarket and Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand.
Muse Gallery
5 Havelock Road, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Toi Store
Pātaka Art + Museum
Cnr Parumoana & Norrie Streets,Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand.