Karu O Te Whenua

VERANOA HETET
Harakeke, Bamboo, Acrylic
240mm(W) x 340mm(H) x 110mm (D)

Not For Sale
 

 

I’ve watched kete woven from harakeke deteriorate with constant use. 

I’ve watched the patterns dwindle away with the sun fading the dyed whenu that create the patterns. 
 

I’ve watched the tradition of having a whānau pattern passed down only within whānau. Then I've seen that tradition dwindle away as a result of those closely-held patterns being published by a non-Māori author.

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One such tribal pattern is Karu o te whenua - Eye of the Land. A pattern attributed to my great grandmother Rangimarie Hetet. 

 

I wanted to create a kete that my children and mokopuna could see without the fear of the kete disintegrating or the sun fading the pattern away into obscurity.

So I painted it. 

 

In the years to come they can study this pattern knowing that it is a part of them and that they are a part of it.