Te kete o whakahoahoa Māori - Contemporary Māori Design

Although I come from a Māori 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 Māori in the world of design. In my time at Victoria University, I have had the chance to see a variety of Māori Designers from all disciplines and formed an understanding of how I can utilize my culture in my work.

Ko mahi tua tahi: Ko Maui me Te Ra

One of my favorite projects I undertook in my tenure in undergraduate, I was asked to design a Māori 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

Ko mahi tua rua: Whiringa wairua, whiringa tangata

The project brief was called “Expanding Parameters” in which, we explored the concept of a customizable user experience. I took this opportunity to design an experience made in the efforts of translating the Tikanga of Raranga (Weaving Flax) to the next generation of Māori in New Zealand.

Māori design follows a series of rules and protocol called Tikanga and Tapu which meant there were certain considerations and choices I had to make to ensure that the experience was done in a respectful manner and improved peoples understanding of Māori culture.

People are given the opportunity to create their own bespoke Tukutuku Vase, based on the woven Tukutuku panels that adorn Maori Mārae and Wharenui. The vessel is intended to be 3D printed with recycled HDPE plastic and woven with harakeke or flax, a native New Zealand fauna. This process elevates the Māori craft by incorporating 3D manufacture into tradition practices.

The Tukutuku Vase was carefully selected to convey the concept of a circular economy taking what was once one with Papatūānuku (the earth) to nurture new life and Matuaranga(Knowledge).

Whiringa Wairua, Whiringa tangata in the Reo translates to “The weave of the spirit, the weave of the man.” This name illustrates the cultural importance of Raranga in Māori and conveys the spirit of Māori revitalization through the Medium.

This project was created as part of the Victoria University of Wellington course:

INDN 441: Creative Digital Manufacture - 2021

Ko mahi tua toru:

Summer research scholarship: Transforming Trash into Taonga

Over the summer of 2019/2020 I was fortunate to be selected to take part in a Victoria University of Wellington summer scholarship called “Transforming Trash into Taonga”. In this project, I worked alongside another scholar commissioned by Te Puia Cultural center and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI).

We were asked to explore innovative ways to minimize the impact of waste streams that emerge within Te Puia and MACI.

We focused particularly on up-cycling plastic waste in ways that could be incorporated into the process of additive manufacture.

It was also important to consider “Tikanga” in our process as we were using traditional Māori materials and we wanted to ensure that such materials were used in a respectful manner.

Strict rules regarding tapu are taught to the students, such as not blowing the sawdust when carving, as it is believed that this is equivalent to blowing away knowledge.

It is also considered “Tapu” to create a fire with the harakeke and burn it as it is deemed to be the burning of knowledge. There is to be no stepping or standing over the harakeke from women. Women are also to avoid handling the harakeke during menstruation.

Ultimately, any “tapu” at NZMACI was raised when Te Puia opened to the public. This was to allow for a better sharing of Māori culture, where tourists are able to walk in, around and out of the area freely to gain a better understanding.

Te Puia has strong views on the topic of sustainability and makes the effort to be conscious of exactly what types of recyclable materials they are using, and where the materials will ultimately end up.

Experiments were undertaken to identify if the waste materials could be processed, formulated and extruded to produce filament that was suitable for 3D printing. From a cultural perspective, the project demonstrated potential for combining tikanga processes/materials and new technologies to create items relative to taonga.

Initial conceptualizations came from identifying and evaluating waste streams that had up-cycling potentials from visiting Te Puia. Concepts were kept broad and either took a modern approach or had a Māori influence. This was due to the range of opinions expressed by the people of Te Puia about the research project.

This research explored innovative ways of processing and up-cycling the collected materials of harakeke, pounamu and wood powder that came from the waste streams of Te Puia and NZMACI.