Witehira, 2005

In my artwork I love working on commissioned works. My art-making practice is about the feel of a site, place or person. Anything that moves me emotionally enough to where I want to capture their mauri (essence) in a painting. Their mauri evokes the expereince of ihi, wehi, wana within me, it inspires me.Capturing its mana and heightening it even more so through the emotive use of colour and texture. As I recall that experience in my studio I become a conduit, a medium for the sublime wonder to guide my art making. From this point colours are selected and as I lay the panels on trestle legs and massage paint onto the panels, the feeling moves my body to produce the final artwork. Because of this I only paint mauri that evokes positive uplifting feelings, hence creating paintings that are inspired by Mauri ora (well being).

Currently I am doing my thesis on how Maori ideals can be integrated into a non-Maori art curriculum, to ensure that our students have the opportunity to learn, reconnect to their culture and korero about themselves and things Maori. The education field is what I am most interested in.