Paora Peipi

“Ko Tamanui koa”

Ki roto i Te Tairāwhiti ko te whitinga mai o te rā tērā e tohu ana i tētahi rangi hou nā Māui tonu i here i te rere a tōna patu kia tōmuri ai te rā.  Ki roto i te ao Māori, ko Tamanui-te-rā te putanga ki te whai ao ki te ao marama ka mutu, nā Tāne tonu ia i iri ki te ātea. Engari ki a mātou o Ngaariki Kaiputahi, he tipuna a Tamanui. He rangatira ia i ngā wā o te pakanga.  Nānā tōna iwi i ārahi ki runga o Areoma.  I ngā wā o te matewai i herea tōna uma ka heke ai ki te kohi wai hei whāngai i te iwi. 

Nō te wehenga o Rangi rāua ko Papa, tae noa ki ngā mahi rongonui a Māui, ki te rangatira anō hoki o Ngaariki Kaiputahi, ko Tamanui te tohu o te ora, te māramatanga, te manaakitanga me te kaitiakitanga. Ko ia te whakatinanatanga o te kōrero‘He Atua, He Tangata’.

Artist Bio

(Ngaariki Kaiputahi, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou)

A descendant of Ngaariki Kaiputahi, Tuhoe, Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata and raised in Te Wai Pounamu, Paora is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.

Always inspired by Te Ao Māori, Paora often juxtaposes natural materials with contemporary technology to create work that combines historical narrative with his aspirations to sustain and uplift Māori culture for future generations.