Contemporary MAori Design
Although I come from a Maori background, I did not take the opportunity to explore this until I began higher education. I felt it was important to not only strive for more knowledge of my chosen field, but also to explore my heritage and what it means to be Maori in the world of design. In my time at Victoria University, I have had the chance to see a variety of Maori Designers from all disciplines and formed an understanding of how I can utilize my culture in my work.
Ko Maui Me Te Ra
One of my favorite projects I undertook in my tenure in undergraduate, I was asked to design a Maori art piece for Victoria University's Living Pa, the campus Wharenui.
Ko Maui Me Te Ra is a lighting piece that tells the story of Maui and his four brothers slowing the sun. Day after day the brothers would hunt, fish and forage to provide for the Iwi, but Te Ra (the sun) moved too quickly across the sky for them to achieve their daily goals, Maui and his brothers hatched a plan to catch the sun.
They gathered all the harakeke they could to weave a net big enough to trap Te Ra, illustrated by the lashing around the light. Although they had this vast net, Te Ra struggled and fought to get free, the brothers holding onto the lashing with all their might. Maui struck Te Ra with his mighty Hei Matau (made from the jawbone of his ancestor Muri-ranga-whenua). Te Ra let out a great cry and, in his anguish, he conceded defeat, promising to slow down for all to enjoy the days. The lamp derives its meaning from the original narrative from a unique perspective, embodying and encouraging themes of collaboration as the five brothers once did in their efforts to catch Te Ra.
“Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takimano” - My strength is not that of an individual, but that of a collective.
This project was created as part of the Victoria University of Wellington course:
INDN 342: Fabrication Codes - 2020