‘'Piko nei te Matenga' is a traditional lament for a fallen chief; it translates as 'When our heads are bowed with woe'...these images mark and mourn so beautifully,' Justin Paton.
Students explored a wide variety of historic and contemporary art in the exhibition This is New Zealand and thought about the ways in which each work represented a different aspect of New Zealand’s changing identity. Then they made observational drawings of a series of photographs by Michael Parekōwhai.
These beautiful large format photographs of bouquets are touching memorials to Māori soldiers. In the education studio students made detailed pastel drawings of leaves and flowers from a collection of plants. They then cut their individual drawings out and combined them together to create large bouquets. Finally, they discussed a dedication for their bouquet, some choosing loved ones, others opting for important people in their local community or admired national figures.
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