By Tracy Underwood and Ruth Robertson-Taylor
Tena koutou e rau rangatira ma,
My name is Tracy Underwood and I am of Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Haunui a Paparangi descent on my mothers side, English and Irish on my fathers side. I trained at Massey University Maori Visual Arts for a period of time, and other Maori arts school over the years. Ruth Robertson-Taylor is of Ngati Pakeha - Irish and Czechoslovakia descent and trained at Whitireia and Massey University in design and arts. We have really enjoyed this collaboration - I have enjoyed contributing my knowledge of Toi Maori and Ruth was able to utilise her awesome design skills to create this mural, thank you for allowing us the privelege of designing this art piece.
This mural is named “He Waka Eke Noa”
This whakatauki talks of unity, inclusivity and togetherness. We are a whanau, on a waka travelling this journey together, and looking after one another as we go. In the year of 2020 we wanted to mark the way Linden School has pulled together as a whanau.
We have created the waka shape based on the taniko pattern. The manawa line creates the large triangular pattern that we hope will be a bold welcoming visual statement to the school. The bottom triangles are made up of my kape rua design, these cradle the other cultural elements. With this design we hope that every child will see their culture represented and celebrated. We have tried to choose motifs that have importance and are representative of the many cultures of your students.
We look forward to the next weeks painting the mural.
Nga mihi
Tracy and Ruth