Artist and Māori fibre weaver Shona Tāwhiao has created semi-abstract sculptural forms based on seedpods, which look to both past and future. The seed is a powerful metaphor for renewal of life forces: an essential fruit of the harvest and a promise of new beginnings.
Within the DNA of every seed is a vital record of the life of its parent, an encoded message that has the potential to develop and sustain new life. Across the world stories and histories are woven around the meaning of the seed and its capacity to shape our futures.
Shona says, “Like whakapapa, these perfectly designed sculptural vessels deliver precious cargo that takes the past to the future, in the present.” The seedpods are generously oversized, sources of growth and learning.
These sculptural forms are statements of Shona’s work, her iwi and tupuna, and the Māori worldview. They include the whakairo of Nanny Nunu, Shona’s great great grandmother Marara Maihi.
Marara’s patterns were recorded in the 1984 publication Raranga Whakairo by renowned fibre arts curator Nick Pendergrast.
Shona’s intricate constructions show her expert craftsmanship celebrating the traditional skills of raranga while proposing a new and important way at looking at weaving as its own standalone entity, challenging, exciting and inspiring.
Text by Liz Cooper.
Artist, designer and weaver Shona Tāwhiao, has exhibited her distinct style of raranga (woven work) for over 25 years. Having trained in traditional Māori raranga weaving techniques and methods by Kahutoi Te Kanawa, Shona’s talent has been described as exquisite and undeniably unique. Shona continues to create a range of sculptural works and adornment pieces but the fusing of her love of fashion and culture with her specialised techniques in weaving has enabled Shona to create Haute Couture from harakeke. This has resulted in her unique style being dubbed “Harakeke Couture”. Shona’s multi award-winning collections of Harakeke Couture have been presented at New Zealand, London, Malaysia, Fiji, Hong Kong and Melbourne Fashion Weeks since 2010.
Made in New Zealand
