Roimata Toroa
In Roimata Toroa, I sought to portray Waipuna-ā-Rangi, the celestial embodiment of rain and atmospheric waters, through a personification of the majestic form of the toroa—the albatross. Using my tā moko visual language I have woven together the special qualities of both: the albatross as a physical and spiritual voyager, and Waipuna-ā-Rangi as the guardian of transformation in the water cycle.
The toroa, revered in te ao Māori, is more than a seabird—it is a master navigator, and wake walrua - carrier of messages across the spiritual realm. With the rare ability to drink salt water and purify it through a hidden gland, the toroa draws nourishment from the ocean where others cannot, allowing it to journey across vast distances without touching land.
This biological feat mirrors the natural desalination process of the earth itself. The ocean, full of salt, sends up vapour into the sky. Through the unseen work of transformation, the salt is left behind, and freshwater returns as rain, under the guidance of the star Waipuna-ā-Rangi. It is a quiet alchemy—salted beginnings giving way to life-giving nourishment.
Waipuna-ā-Rangi, a star in the Matariki cluster, governs precipitation, mist, and sacred rain. In the Māori worldview, this is more than weather; it is the return of wai māori—pure water—to Papatūānuku, our earth mother. Her role is both cosmic and deeply intimate, ensuring the ongoing cycle of renewal.
Together, the toroa and Waipuna-ā-Rangi embody the process of transformation and an understanding of spiritual and physical balance - Roimata Toroa is a metaphor for balance, learning, and the intergenerational flow of taonga tuku iho—knowledge and strength passed down with care and purpose.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Julie Paama-Pengelly has been at the forefront of developments in Māori Arts since the mid 1980s and was fortunate to have been taught herself by strong visionary Māori artists and mentors through the Toioho ki Apiti Bachelor of Māori Arts programme, of which she was a foundation student and served as student mentor.
Julie has a passion for Māori design and Tā moko-skin marking traditions, pioneering the role of women as Tā moko practitioners during the Tā moko revival period in the 1990s. Her subsequent experiences as an educator, writer, curator, designer and artist practitioner have influenced her ongoing drive to strategize Māori arts and artists development, culminating in her current role as chairperson of Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust (2015).
Julie has directed leadership in research and social commentary on Māori arts and understands the importance of evolving art in her own work creation which explores a range of media located within a unique Māori pedagogical framework. Julie balances her art practice against the demands of her other strategic work, which includes commissioned Māori design, public works and curatorial, painted works and printmaking as well as 3D sculpture and the crafting tattoo hand tools.