MAURI ORA TE REO
Language Identity Heritage Resilience
Mauri Ora Te Reo explores the relationship between language, identity and heritage, and the impact of what can be lost when a language is silenced.
Across Heritage, New Beginnings and Resilience, the work traces three generations - from a generation who spoke Te Reo Māori fluently but were prevented from using it, through a generation who were not taught the language, to a generation reclaiming it and working to keep it alive.
HERITAGE
This work speaks to the heritage carried through generations - what remains when so much has been lost or silenced. The Korowai (cloak) and the hat reflect the influence of colonisation and the layers of Māori and European identity that have shaped our history.
The mouth represents my father’s generation - fluent speakers whose ability to speak Te Reo Māori was suppressed. It symbolises a language that was known, spoken and carried.
The Moko Kauae (chin tattoo) represents whakapapa (genealogy), belonging and a connection to our heritage that cannot be erased.
HERITAGE - COLOUR VARIATIONS
BLUE - reflection, depth and connection
RED - strength, resistance and the history that cannot be erased
OCHRE - whenua (land), warmth and connection to whakapapa (genealogy)
GREY - memory, loss and the weight of what has been silenced
NEW BEGINNINGS
This work represents a point of renewal - the space between what has been lost and what can begin again.
The Koru inspired by the unfurling fern, speaks to growth, movement, renewal and new beginnings. Its spiral form remains connected to its centre while continuing to unfold, reflecting the way identity and culture can grow while remaining connected to where we come from.
The absence of the mouth represents my generation - a generation who were not taught Te Reo Māori and inherited a silence that was not of our choosing. The Koru represents the growth that begins from that place: reconnecting with our language, culture and identity, and finding a way forward while remaining connected to where we come from.
The vivid colour and layered patterns represent movement and possibility - a future where Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Māori culture continue to be reclaimed, celebrated and carried forward.
NEW BEGINNINGS - COLOUR VARIATIONS
ORANGE - warmth, energy and the courage to move forward
BLUE - reflection, depth and the space for renewal
YELLOW - hope, possibility and the right of new beginnings
MAGENTA - creativity, transformation and the unfolding of an identity
RESILIENCE
This work presents the present - a continuing expression of resilience, identity and the determination to keep Te Reo Māori and Māori culture alive.
The hoodie and bucket hat place the figure firmly in the present, reflecting a generation carrying its culture forward. The blue mark on the cheek represents a bruise - a reminder of how many times we have been challenged, knock down or pushed backwards.
But a bruise is not the end. We heal, we rise, and we keep moving forward.
Resilience means continuing to stand, speak, learn and protect what previously generations fought to restore.
WE ARE STILL HERE. WE ARE STILL SPEAKING. WE ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR OUR LANGUAGE AND OUR CULTURE.
IT IS NOT OUR SHAME TO CARRY
Drawing on my Māori whakapapa and my own family history, this work reflects on what was lost - and what remains.
My father was punished for speaking Te Reo Māori. Like many of his generation, he was taught that speaking our language would disadvantage us, and that English was the language of opportunity.
The effects of that history continue. For many Māori, there can be a sense of sadness or shame around not being able to speak the language of our ancestors - a language that was once spoken freely, but was discouraged and for some, punished.
But that shame is not ours to carry!
The work acknowledges the history that made our language something we were taught to silence, rather than something we were encouraged to speak.
Throughout the collection, the figures are deliberately presented through a mixture of Māori and European influences. The korowai (cloak) draws from Māori forms of dress and protection, while the hat represents the influence of the European culture and colonisation. Together, they represent the layers of identity through a history of cultural encounter, change and displacement.
The erased eyes and mouths speak to the loss of voice and identity, while the Moko Kauae (chin tattoo) represents something deeper - whakapapa (genealogy), belonging and a connection to heritage that cannot be erased.
But this work is not only about loss.
It is about what survives.
It is about reclaiming language, identity and culture - and carrying them forward.
The shame belongs to history - not to us.
