MARTIN AWA CLARKE LANGDON
(Ngāti Whawakia, Ngāti Hikairo, Kāi Tahu)
Kia Ū, 2026
For the Tuku exhibition, I have approached the tiki form as an opportunity to reflect on the ingenuity of our tūpuna, who innovated these forms to embody the kōrero of humanity from a te ao Māori perspective.
For me, the tiki serves much like the concept of tuku itself, as a simultaneous action of passing backward and forward. It bridges our understanding of our relationship to atua, to the taiao, to each other, and to the ongoing mātauranga that sustains our uniqueness in this world.
In this piece, the body of the tiki form is rendered with kōrero using my signature font, while the head is left free to honour the tapu of our minds and thoughts. Expressed through both negative and positive space, the text and patterns interplay, flowing freely across the contours of a body like ripples, or rivers, and mountains across the whenua. The choice of kupu, whakatauākī, and ingoa are a reflection of the form and the kōrero of our tūpuna.
ngā ō tūpuna i tuku mai.
Details: 29cm x 21cm x 2cm
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TUKU celebrates Māori artistic excellence, identity and creativity.
Through the generosity of established and emerging Māori artists, this kaupapa brings people together through toi while raising funds for TIPENE student artists to travel to Hawaiʻi, collaborate with Indigenous artists and art schools and grow their creative potential.
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