The artist lighting up Takutai Square for Matariki 2025

ARAMA TAMARIKI-ENUA Spread across those locations, Tūhono assumes the form of a metaphoric waka, highlighting Te Tōangaroa as a significant portage. The tauihu of this waka points to Takaparawhau to signify the importance of trade, connection, and the return home to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s ahi kā. 

The waka form has lots of connection points. Tāmaki Makaurau is the gathering place of waka and people, and waka had a significant role in relocating Ngāti Whātua to Tāmaki in the 1700s, when a war party of 60 men was gathered in the Kaipara by chief Wahaakiaki to raid Waiohua in Tāmaki. They paddled down to Te Oka (modern day Point Erin) where they lay down beneath piles of harakeke, leaving only two men visible, one at each end of the waka. They landed at Kohimarama, and as people came to investigate, the men rose and slaughtered them all. They went on to attack and claim the pā at Tokapurewha, Whakatakataka, Ōrākei, Tauraru, and Maungakiekie, which remain within the tribe's ahi kā today. 

So there are pivotal historical battles like this in which waka play a part, but waka are also still prevalent nowadays and serve to reaffirm Māori as tangata whenua and tangata moana. Last year saw the launch of Te Kawau, a waka taua (war canoe) of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s to enhance the tribe's ancestral connection to Te Waitematā. Waka taua are considered the largest and most tapū of all waka Māori, often used to transport warriors during war raids; Te Kawau upholds this tikanga in which only male warriors will be allowed to set foot on board. But Tūhono, which translates as “to tie together,” celebrates all, depicting the waka tētē, a smaller, single-hulled multi-purpose canoe utilised by women, men, children, and the elderly as a means of transport and trade. 

ARAMA TAMARIKI-ENUA The stretch of coastline as we see it today is vastly different from what it once was, concealing stories of connection, triumph, and an abundance of life. Te Tōangaroa, where Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s commercial operations are now based – it’s also the area that’s home to Spark Arena – was a key port for the exchange of Māori produce from as far afield as Te Tai Rāwhiti (East Coast), produce that fuelled Auckland’s growth in the 1840s and 1850s. Te Komititanga, the plaza outside Waitematā Station, refers to the mixing of people as well as its location where the waters of Waitematā and Wai Horotiu merged. And on Quay Street, at the foot of a former bluff where a headland pā name Te Rerengaoraiti once stood, you can find the location that saw the signing of Tuku Whenua on September 18. 1840, when Ngāti Whātua rangatira Apihai Te Kawau granted 3000 acres of land to Governor Hobson to provide a place where all could be equal and benefit from. So it’s a short stretch of land, but it’s rich in history. 

ARAMA TAMARIKI-ENUA I’ve tried to blend tradition with contemporary design, highlighting the evolution of Māori visual language and some of the innovations we see today. My designs are rendered in a two-dimensional geometric style that’s contemporary while also being grounded in cultural motifs. For one set of patterns, I developed a grid system that reimagines the tukutuku panel using only squares and triangles – positive and negative space that allows warrior figures to be subtly embedded, and reflects the assembly of traditional tukutuku and its layers of harakeke. 

The second grid takes on a more circular, organic structure that is inspired by carving styles in Ōrākei forms that are fluid, serpent-like and body-oriented. I’ve repeated those to make hive-like patterns that symbolise a war party lying in wait, hidden from view and ready to strike. Plus the star-like shapes that emerge through the repetition of these circles can be read as a reference to the stars in the Matariki constellation. 

These forms are also used in the projections onto the fountain in Takutai Square, Te Rou Kai, with movement and vitality introduced through colour – which refers to some of the colours used in Tumutumuwhena, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s whare tupuna – as well as brightness and varied visual weight. There’s also a ripple effect that draws from the Cook Islands’ “Ipu” pattern, representing genealogy and heritage (Te Ipukarea). This references oceanic voyaging and the intergenerational passage of knowledge. I worked with Angus Muir to carefully layer up these elements with attention to the combination of lights and movement so it draws people into the space. 

There’s also an audio aspect to the work that I developed in collaboration with Peter Hobbs that feels grounded in nature and heritage, and hopefully reminds people who hear it of what existed here before the modern city. 

ARAMA TAMARIKI-ENUA I hope the layers we’re temporarily adding to Te Rou Kai for Matariki help people to see it through fresh eyes. It’s an important work and an honour to be able to highlight its presence in the central city. In a way it’s interesting to be a younger generation working with a piece created by some of my whanaunga, as it speaks to some of the longer histories I’m referring to in the sequence of works through the downtown area. 

Conceptually for this piece, I’ve thought of Te Rou Kai as a kind of stage where the waka come in to land. Hopefully people moving through the space at night will find the light work gives them another opportunity to connect with Te Rou Kai in a new way. It’s a great canvas to work with: the water in the fountain adds a dynamic organic element, while the rocks and their shadows add amazing depth. The wet surface of the paving under the fountains will create an interesting foil for the lights – a literal representation of reflection, which is one of the processes we should all be engaging in at Matariki.