TOI WAIHANGA
Raewyn Tauira Paterson (Ngai Tuhoe) and Tim Whaitiri-Henderson (Rongowhakaata,Ngati Kahungunu) are both masters graduates from the Eastern Institute of Technology.
In 2019 they worked together on creating panels for Te Ara o Tāwhaki, the marae on campus. Raewyn won a research award from EIT for this project, the latest in a long line of awards and exhibitions for the celebrated local artist. Raewyn’s work consistently addresses our relationship with the environment, ecology, whakapapa, bi-cultural identity and patterning. Her self-confessed obsession with patterns drives her work in printmaking, spatial design and timber reliefs.
Tim is an emerging artist who views the making, constructing and reconstructing of his artwork as symbolic of his own reconstruction, having recently developed a well-being practice alongside his creative practice. The layering of his lightbox panels takes his advanced kōwhaiwhai skills into a three-dimensional presentation. Each lightbox is representative of an Ātua and as the viewer moves around the lightbox, the complexity of light play within the artwork is revealed.
Both artists employ the use of laser cut wood to create their artworks allowing them to execute precise detailed patterns and storytelling in their work. They see the season of Matariki as an appropriate time for artists to reflect on their journey to date, acknowledge their progress, and plant seeds for the following year. A sentiment we can all get on board with.
Raewyn Tauira Paterson - Artist Profile