Tuurangawaewae - Portraits

Tuurangawaewae in maaori culture is a sense of identity and independence associated with having a home base. Through this we explore our own identity and place in the world. The main question we ask ourselves is Ko Wai au? Who am I? 

As a part of our Tuurangawaewae learning we explored the art style of maaori artist Robyn Kahukiwa. Robyn Kahukiwa is a leading maaori artist who has done a lot to raise awareness of contemporary maaori art. Her art style is often political and addresses the oppression of Maaori woman by the social structures of the dominant Pakeha culture and the change in Maaori tradition. In her artwork she acknowledges the disappearance of meaning and identity - specifically maaori identity.

Here are a few examples of the amazing artwork ruuma tekau maa rua has completed. The task was to complete a self portrait inspired by Robyn's style. We added in Tui to incorporate our hub name (Tui hub) and other designs inspired by papatuanuku.