MAORI MARKet was recently held at the TSB Arena in Wellington, showcasing contemporary Maori artworks. Many of the works on display were world-class in both execution and price tag, the range including carving in wood, stone and bone, painting, woven cloaks and baskets, jewellery and pottery (the latter not being a traditional Maori art form). On the look-out for a piece to complement our Jeff Thomson wall sculpture, we felt drawn to Whakatikanga (Uprising), a diptych by Hawkes Bay artist Jackie Hawkins.
Jackie was born in 1979 and gained a Bachelor of Maori Art from the Toimairangi School of Maori Visual Culture, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, in Hastings. She says this diptych is the first of a new series based around her leaving Toimairangi and becoming an established artist. The kite (manuote) represents the soaring spirit while the kowhaiwhai on the second piece represents the mana (loosely "pride") of the land (whenua).
Kites were traditionally made of raupo or toetoe stalks bound with strips of flax, sometimes bark cloth, and decorated with feathers. As well as being entertaining they may have had a spiritual purpose:
Depending upon the tribe, the names of Maori kites usually included the word manu (bird) and, as throughout Polynesia and Micronesia, Maori made their kites in the shape of a bird, possibly in the belief that birds were the communicators between humans and the spirit world. It was thought that the soul or spirit of a person was in the form of a bird so that the kite became an extension of its owner by which means the kite flyer contacted the spirit world.
For us the flying kite encompasses the suggestions to "rise above" the trials and tribulations of life, to step outside of one's comfort zone and reach new heights in both personal and professional development. It's also the logo of Untouched World, a Kiwi clothing brand we wear that considers the kite an "emblem of an ideal relationship between man and nature".
The kowhaiwhai pattern is an abstract curvilinear form that is a common feature in Maori art, the basic element being the koru. The koru is the symbol and namesake we chose for Project Koru, and thus has special significance for Simone and myself. As we have described, the unfurling fern frond reminds us of important lessons:
- Life can take many directions;
- In each direction there are many variations;
- What we can see is only part of the story; possibilities are yet to be revealed.
The element to the right of the diptych is not explained by Jackie. To me, with a web designer's eye, it provides a visual counterweight to the darker tones used in the left of the image. But it also looks like a place-mark; my personal interpretation is that it serves to say "Remember this place". Remember who you are and where you are, at each place in time and space, for these things tell of the journey that is your life.
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