A set of alphabet blocks in te reo Māori aims to transport the Māori world into people’s homes and normalise it through play.
The Paku Pū Rākau blocks feature the Māori alphabet and numbers, along with Māori atua (gods) and designs.
But as artist Johnson Witehira (Tamahaki, Uenuku, Ngāi Tūteauru), the co-founder of the design studio Paku, explains, when combined with a special app in development, these are more than simple letter and picture blocks.
“With all the new technology now, I thought how can we make this kind of interactive and a little bit more fun?”
That’s where the PAKU AR app will come in to bring the Māori figures to life through digital animation when viewed through a phone or tablet.
The augmented reality app will allow tamariki to play and interact with the stories in both the physical and digital world. Each atua can be scanned and when combined will interact with each other, uncovering pūrākau (ancient legends) at the same time.
“I just want to find ways to bring te ao Māori into people’s homes. Like all homes, not just Māori. I think product design is a really cool way to do that,” the 40-year-old, who lives in Lyall Bay, Wellington, said.
“So that’s kind of the idea and I think, what better place to start than with kids?”
Witehira likes to combine traditional Māori art with modern design elements in his work.
“I’ve tried to make sure everything I do is connected to the past in terms of me using specific types of carving styles and forms and figures, but also making it really contemporary,” he said.
“Even though when people probably see some of what I do, it probably looks contemporary to them, there’s very much a long history of doing some of the stuff that I’m already doing.”
Along with teaching tamariki (children) the Māori alphabet and numbers, the 24 blocks can be arranged to retell Māori myths and legends.
The blocks were originally created as part of Witehira’s doctorate in contemporary Māori design in 2011. But they have now undergone a complete redesign with more atua and stories that can be told through them.
He said by creating the blocks, he wants to normalise te ao Māori in society.
“There are very few Maori toys... very few interactive Māori language resources,” he said.
“It’s around this idea of learning through play and learning about te ao Māori through play.”
Witehira has started a Kickstarter campaign to help get the new product off the ground with the aim of raising $10,000.
