Meremaihi Te Are

Biography

Tēnā koutou,

My name is Meremaihi. Nō ngā iwi o Te Arawa, Tūhoe, me Ngāti Raukawa, and I grew up here in Kirikiriroa.

I have a passion for creativity and storytelling. My interests lie in music and photography, and I’ve enjoyed incorporating these forms of expression into my design projects and how they’ve expanded my capabilities. I’ve learned so many different skills in art and design, growing my confidence as a creative over the last few years. My abilities as a future designer have truly grown throughout my degree here at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, and I can’t wait to see where my experience in design will take me!

Project Description

Telling the stories of our tīpuna and their practices, Ururoa is a photo book capturing traditions such as whakairo, tā moko, and raranga. Exploring the relationship of Mātauranga Māori and te taiao, I hope to express the knowledge that Māori have long had about the environment. The photographs will display the history of Māori traditions, reconnecting readers with such practices through imagery. Growing up in an urban area, I never got to see these practices in progress first hand and only ever the final product. I wanted to use this opportunity to be part of the process, while learning about such traditions and sharing what they mean to te ao Māori and our environment.

Created with our rangatahi in mind, this pukapuka was made to inform and inspire our young people into pursuing or learning about our traditional Māori arts. Whether you have interests in whakairo, tā moko, raranga, photography, art and design, or are just after a book to flick through, I hope to show the beauty of te ao Māori and its traditions.

Ururoa