Taumata ki te Tai Tokerau

Artist: Melissa Robinson-Cole and Rudi Robinson-Cole

Title: Taumata ki te Tai Tokerau

Year: 2023

Medium: Wool crochet, hand carved polystyrene and plywood

Dimensions: 600 x 400 x 250mm

Artwork kōrero

Te Taumata ki te Tai Tokerau speaks to the enduring aroha we hold for our whenua, our people, and the places that have shaped us. It acknowledges that our identity is inseparable from the landscapes that carry the footsteps and stories of our tūpuna.

The distinctive bobble stitch that forms the wheku represents the many maunga and awa of Aotearoa. Each raised stitch becomes a mountain peak, each space between them a valley or riverbed, reminding us that life is never experienced from only one perspective. We all journey through our own peaks and valleys, moments of celebration and moments of struggle, all of which shape who we become.

For Māori, our connection to the whenua is more than physical, it is ancestral. Every mountain, every river, every coastline holds memory, whakapapa and belonging. The bobble stitch becomes a tactile expression of that relationship, inviting people to consider the landscapes that have formed their own identity and the love they carry for those places.

The use of our Taumata wool represents passion, vitality and the life force that exists within us. It speaks of the fire we carry for our people, our culture and our aspirations. It is the colour of aroha expressed through action, the energy that moves us to create, protect and uplift one another. Like the whenua itself, this passion is enduring, connecting us to those who came before us while inspiring those who will come after us.

The pompom eyes represent our tūpuna. They remind us that we are never walking alone. Our ancestors remain ever present as our kaitiaki, watching over us with aroha, guidance and protection. Their gaze asks us to remember where we come from, to honour those who came before us, and to recognise that our actions today become part of the legacy we leave for future generations.

This wheku reminds us that while our journeys may rise and fall like the land itself, we remain held by whakapapa, strengthened by our connection to place, and surrounded by the enduring presence of those who have walked before us.