Artist Models

Fiona Pardington

(Ngāi Tahu, Kati Mamoe and Ngāti Kahungunu) and Scottish (Clan Cameron of Erracht)

Fiona’s principal medium is photography however her inventive and and unpredictable techniques imbue a mauri within them that gives a theatrical feel when viewing her images. Her works of taonga held within museums, shows the life of teach taonga that Maori believe is in all things. The taonga suddenly become living breathing objects moving, dancing, even talking if the viewer is willing to look through a Te Ao Māori lens. Taking the time to see the taonga in this way and then to share this view with the world adds to the mana of each the taonga included that is normally locked away in institutions and often forgotten.

---

Tibetan Buddhists

This part from the above video perfectly describes how I feel about using kokowai in my work: 2:25min “The very important buddhist belief is the impermanance, they don’t believe that death is the end, it’s just a passing phase, it’s our essence that carries on.” “But also that you shouldn’t be attached to anything, so the idea of the destruction of the sand mandala. We return to the elements, so to is the sand mandala returned to the elements”