2020 - ongoing

​In rongoā, I piece together whakapapa threads and stories through poem fragments, and fibres dyed with healing plants that bind me to their places of belonging, thinking back to my ancestral homelands — particularly Taranaki, Scotland, and Ireland. Just as each of these plants holds the ability to heal the body, so working with them through whatuora, through whakapapa, in close relation to the places and stories they grow from, can begin to heal the ruptures caused by colonialism-driven dislocation.

artworks include

rongoā (mending) (2020–ongoing). Foraged plant dyes (angiangi/feusag a gobhair/goats beard lichen, dock/copag, gorse, harakeke, iron sulfate, kānuka, lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm.

distance rewoven from the roots to the stem (2020). Hīkoi;35mm film;dye-sublimated print (of Tongaporutu harakeke and gorse) onto hemp fibre unravelled by hand; whatu in plant- dyed (gorse, kānuka, harakeke, lupin, tanekaha) wool yarn. 600 x 1000mm.​

​embodying my roots, skin, and leaves: a counter-map of home (2020-ongoing); Foraged plant dyes (acorns, angiangi/feusag a gobhair/goats beard lichen, dock/copag root, gorse flowers and spines, harakeke para, kānuka bark, kawakawa, lupin leaves, mānuka leaves, onion skin, pōhutukawa bark, pōhutukawa roots, tanekaha bark, yarrow, woad) on vintage and handed-down woollen blanket. Currently 2000 x 3720mm.

​–

First iteration shown in Groundwork, The Barrel Store at Corban Estate Art Centre, 2020

Second iteration shown in On returning to the sea, Matariki MVA Graduating Exhibitions, ST PAUL Street Gallery, 2020

Third iteration shown in distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Blue Oyster Art Project Space, 2021

Fourth iteration shown in whatuwai, Nathan Homestead Galleries, 2023