He Ipu Whenua Series
Ink pen on reclaimed canvas tents He Ipu Whenua forms part of the Rebel Flags series, which reclaims imagery drawn from Māori peace and war flags -symbols historically framed through colonial narratives as “captured rebel flags.” In this context, rebellion is repositioned as an expression of resistance, autonomy, and the enduring relationship between people and whenua.
The work is created on reclaimed cotton tent canvas, a material deeply tied to movement and temporary occupation. Tents function as provisional dwellings, marking presence on land that is not always secure or recognised. For Māori, the return to whenua has often begun with tent occupations — acts of visibility, resolve, and reclamation. At the same time, the material recalls the historical use of tents by New Zealand cavalry during campaigns to pursue and suppress so-called rebels, embedding the canvas with layered histories of shelter, surveillance, resistance, and control.
The composition references Victorian-era curio postcards and museum display traditions, which are deliberately reworked through a direct and immediate drawing process using marker pens. Recurring imagery of weapons appears throughout the work, with landscapes drawn along the barrel like horizon lines, acknowledging whenua as contested terrain shaped by both colonial violence and internal whānau tensions surrounding land ownership and autonomy. Drawn vessels recur across the surface, informed by the artist’s background in pottery. These forms act as metaphors for whenua itself — containers of whakapapa, care, and responsibility. Like land, they are held, carried, protected, and at times fractured, requiring active stewardship to endure.
