Drifting birds

The Weymouth Primary School mural was painted as a result of a school art competition held towards the end of the year. Students were invited to submit entries that depicted the schools 5 teams Moana, Te Awa, Papa, Maunga & Rangi. The winning entry by student Gabriella Loffley was then interpreted by us & integrated within the larger concept of the naming of Manurewa.

It is believed by many that Manurewa is interpreted as ‘Soaring Bird’ & to others ‘Drifting Kite', it speaks of the story of two half brothers Tamapahure & Tamapahore the sons of Huarangi.

Tamapahure was born & after the passing of his mother Takawai, Huarangi married Kohe resulting in the birth of another son whom they named Tamapahore. Over time this created great conflict between families & as a result Huarangi left Tamapahure on Matukutureia - 'The vigilant bittern' (Wiri Mountain - semi quarried) to assume chieftainship of the fortified pa.

When Huarangi died the children from the two families continued to live apart. Kohe had moved home to Piako along with the females of her whanau leaving Tamapahure to assume chieftainship on Matukutururu (McLaughlin hill - fully quarried away) where they had settled earlier.

One day the men of Matukurua (the two hills) were kite-flying and Tamapahore’s kite had ascended the highest. Because of this Tamapahure caused his cord to break that of his brothers and the kite drifted towards Hauraki. Because of its value Tamapahore went with his family to where his kite had drifted, 'Te Manu rewa o Tamapahore' (the drifted-away kite of Tamapahore) is now known as Manurewa.

The title 'DRIFTING BIRDS' speaks to the deeper story of two drifting brothers who are represented as Tui in the concept. Gabriella was the winning student from a school art competition, her design was painted by us & included in the overall concept. It speaks of the 5 different levels/groups of the school & is surrounded by the kaiwhare (stingray kaitiaki) of Te Akitai Waiohua who are mana whenua to the Weymouth area.

Tui

The winning design

Photos from the Manukau Courier article photographer Chris Harrowell

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/86616139/artists-charles-and-janine-williams-transform-weymouth-primary-school

Walls to prints

When you paint large scale its a difficult process reducing your imagery down in size. Spray paint is a medium that covers a large area with very large strokes & it has taken us a few years to find the process we are most comfortable using without losing the unique richness of our art form.

Our first few prints with gold award winning Artrite Screen Printing have only been of the highest quality!

Their screen printing process producing the finest work that we have come across throughout our career & it is a privilege producing work alongside artists such as Dick Frizzell, Shane Cotton, Tony Ogle, Stanley Palmer, Max Gimblett, Don Binney & Karl Maughan. We painted the wall for this print & produced the prints earlier in the year & now the time is right to present:

'Aroha mai, Aroha atu' - the love you give is the love you will receive!

Fine art archival quality screen prints on Fabriano paper using light fast inks, this is a limited edition series that speaks about our involvement in the community. Everything that we give out to the people around us can only come back to bring us love & fulfilment, the central design speaks about that journey using the niho taniwha design & the kaokao (zigzag) design refers to the strength needed.

Every print we produce is a high quality photographic CMYK print of the original wall. The team carefully prints each layer producing vibrant & robust imagery that is guaranteed to last generations. Our print is in honour of our friend Michelle who was involved in this work, she rests peacefully now alongside her Tupuna.

Research & our process

A hugely important part of our artistic process is to research the history of the whenua (land) we are working upon, with that it so happens that many parts of Tāmaki (Auckland) are connected to my (Janine) whakapapa (ancestral geneology). The close proximity to these locations enables us to regularly travel to these places connecting our professional practise with the very personal journey of knowing more of who we are.

The newest regional park here in our city is the beautiful Waitawa Bay. Located 50km from central Auckland on our south-eastern coast, Waitawa is made up of three small peninsulas and fronts onto four bays and is a recreation park. It was here on this site my great great grandparents William & Parewheururangi Castle worked/lived in the mid 19th century having built a trading post & small tavern. Trade was a very important part of their lives & also to the wider whanau in the area. Supplying Auckland with a strong focus on the city centre, Ngāti Paoa were a powerhouse in produce production travelling back & forward on waka to the central foreshore of the CBD.

Not so long ago we had the privilege of attending the official blessing of the latest information panel. How amazing to be included in this process & to also have the honour of appearing in one of the photographs alongside my mother & under my tupuna. Generations connected together by DNA, land & spirit, Ngāti Paoa is strengthening its presence after years of being scattered due to the musket wars of the 1820s & disease that came with the new arrivals. It is an honour & privilege to represent my whanau in the work & projects as of late, I can only hope that they are all looking down upon me with a smile on their faces!

Besties

Waitaua

Overlooking the Hauraki

The panel