Te Tauihu
The matariki cluster is part of a larger constellation known as Te Waka o Rangi - by where matariki makes the tauihu (prow) of the waka. Te Waka o Rangi is captained by Taramainuku who casts his kupenga (net) each night, collecting those that have passed throughout that day on their journey onwards to rarohenga.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kereama Taepa studied for his Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University in Palmerston North, and continued on to gain his Masters degree. Taepa’s involvement in the arts have been broad and varied participating in various national and international arts residencies, symposiums, workshops and hui.
He has exhibited his art nationally and internationally, and has works in collections across New Zealand and abroad. He has recently unveiled ‘Tohorā’ on the Kāpiti Coast, 2020 as well as 'Pōhutukawa’ on the Tauranga Waterfront, 2018. Other major public works include the ‘a (very) brief history of aotearoa’ sculptures for the Four Plinths Sculpture Project in Wellington, 2016 and a public sculpture titled ‘tichi’ in New Plymouth, 2015. He is a Supreme Award winner of the Rotorua Art Awards 2017, the Molly Morpeth 2D Art Award in 2008 and recently received the Runner Up Award at the National Art Awards 2018.
For the last decade, Taepa has sought to establish himself as Aotearoa’s most leading contemporary Māori digital artist. His work explores themes of digital culture and its impact on Māori culture - and how Māori can use technology to further serve the generations of the future. His work utilizes emergent technologies such as projection, 3D printing, Augmented Reality and Virtual reality to tell narratives of the past and the present. This has resulted in his work being the first digital artwork to be acquired by the Parliamentary Collection in 2023.