KaitakaTānikoWahanaKopito - Original Painting

- Sheree Willman

This tāniko pattern is inspired from the kaitaka cloak housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Tāniko is a uniquely Māori variation of whatu (twining) and is used to weave the colourful, intricate borders of cloaks.

This tāniko pattern is the is the Waharua kōpito pattern which consists of vertically paired diamond shapes. The literal translation is ‘a point where people or events cross’. The pattern is a reminder that change occurs at such meeting points.

"This is my 8th year painting full time and tūpuna has a big influence with all my paintings, I’m inspired by the geometrical patterns of mahi toi, especially the patterns from kete whakairo (patterned bags) and tāniko designs, tāniko is a uniquely Māori variation of whatu (twining) and is used to weave the colourful, intricate borders of cloaks, also tukutuku patterns, lattice work that adorn the walls of the wharenui."

"The tāniko paintings in this exhibition are inspired from kaitaka cloaks that are housed in museums overseas. The KaitakaTānikoWahanaKopito is housed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and KaitakaNoreTāniko is housed in the British Museum. I felt the need to paint from these beautiful tāniko patterns and felt it was my way by honouring them by trying to recreate them and bringing them home in a different form."

"Some of kete whakairo patterns in the exhibition are inspired by some new kete patterns I haven’t painted from before."

Dimensions:

Length - 1500mm x Height - 400mm x Depth - 34mm

Please Note -
The 'in situ mockup' is merely an example of visual representation within an environment and it does not truly reflect the size of the original painting. Please refer to the measurements above for the exact dimensions of this piece.