Inspired by her own whakapapa, artist Taupuru Ariki Whakataka Brightwell, known as Ariki, has just added her unique touch to a pouwhenua that her father, Matahi Whakataka Brightwell first created more than 40 years ago in the Tawatawa Reserve, Wellington.
Ariki is of Rongowhakaata, Tahitian and Rarotonga descent and says she shares the stories of her peoples through her art.
She is a descendant of artists and Polynesian waka builders on both sides of her family.
“I was born into the world of waka and the world of art which are intertwined because our waka carries our art and our genealogy,” she says.
“My father was a huge part of my life. When I was born, he started the waka Te Aio o Nukutaimemeha in Whangarā, the largest war canoe ever built. It was 150 feet long, out of 22 totara logs and it took him 10 years to build that, which was the first 10 years of my upbringing.”
Ariki’s grandfather on her mother's side, Francis Cowan, is one of the best known Pacific navigators and waka builders of the 20th century.
“His work is responsible for a huge renaissance in waka voyaging and waka culture around the world. His name was Francis Cowan and in 1956, he sailed a canoe, a bamboo raft to Chile to prove the Kon-tiki Expedition [led by Thor Hyerdahl who showed a balsam raft could be sailed to the Pacific Islands from Peru] incorrect about the assumption that no one could sail back that way after they came to Hawaiki.”
Seven days' work
It was an emotional moment when Ariki and her father unveiled her addition to his pouwhenua. It had taken them seven days to complete.
“And so 41 years later, I returned with him and we recut the statue and added a motif to remind us of our links to Hawaiki.”
“It was quite, very emotional because in his time in when he put that that sculpture up, you know, he was harassed by the police and our fellow Māori because the topic of Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata in Pōneke is quite controversial.”
She says the original pouwhenua was made at the request of her father's dear friend, Bruce Stewart, founder of Tapu Te Ranga marae.
"Key tūpuna (ancestors) from our whānau and the Stuart whānau were merged together but also with the conflicts that arose and the turbulent times such as the settler history but also the Māori history and the mana of the iwi that ascended despite all that."
Her work as a fulltime artist includes sculpture and creating murals for kura - all creative expressions of her heritage.
“I feel like my presence in Aotearoa is building and I'm proud of that and it's been a long journey. However, I've always yearned to create art for my other side.”
“I actually want to go to Tahiti and also the Cook Islands to do the opposite, do the Maori art there.”
Hoping the borders with Tahiti open soon, Brightwell has her heart set on taking part in the Ono'u Arts Festival in October.
