Kāhui Whetū
DipFAA, Toi iho
DipFAA, Toi iho
Ross Hemera
- e
- c Massey University
- region Te Arawa Waka
Discipline and Expertise:
Seek after the footsteps of our tīpuna in acknowledgement of their treasures that are handed down to us. Be vigilant about recognising and learning from the visual and material culture of our ancestors. Create things that maintain our connection to them – even the fragmented and fragile remains. (Ross Hemera)
Ahakoa e ngoikore ana ōu tapuwae, ka noho tonu te whakahuahua.
Even though your footsteps are faint, the outline remains.
Ngā Aho to me is about whanaungatanga, being connected and being aware of the myriad of connections that are made over a lifetime, past, present and future. Ngā Aho is awareness of all that makes us who we are. The physical, emotional, symbolic and unknown.
There are intergenerational connections that exist between you, me, and the entire universe. We are tied together with those cords we refer to as, ‘aho.’ Therefore we are “collective.”
To sever the aho is to perish, alone and isolated.
My main disciplines are in visual arts and design. My vision for this kaupapa is to support the value of iwi creativity, art and design, which are integral parts of the face of Aotearoa identity. I believe that Kāi Tahu visual and material culture can be central to informing our Aotearoa narratives.
We have something to pursue in each of us individually, and often we can't see what it is, where we are heading. I like to go the trails that the ancestors took when they did their drawings on the rocks. I would follow their historical footsteps into those shelters, and it's all about wanting to connect.
I applaud all of our rangatahi who are keen to identify with iwi, hapū and whanau wherever they can, and to identify with all the whakapapa that are available to all Māori. I'd be saying to them, take your time. Be immersed. Yes. Be passionate. Yes. But, don't be in a rush to get there, take the small steps, the meaningful steps. If you haven't taken the little steps, what happens when you have to go backwards?
Follow your dreams. Follow where you want to head, follow those things that are important. Follow those narratives that have been handed down to you and then try and express those in your own way. Use that way of working as a springboard to explore the world with.
I still seek my most fulfilling project; it is an evolving journey. I am available to mentor other seekers, other footsteps makers, and thinkers.
There are intergenerational connections that exist between you, me, and the entire universe. We are tied together with those cords we refer to as, ‘aho.’ Therefore we are “collective.”
To sever the aho is to perish, alone and isolated.
My main disciplines are in visual arts and design. My vision for this kaupapa is to support the value of iwi creativity, art and design, which are integral parts of the face of Aotearoa identity. I believe that Kāi Tahu visual and material culture can be central to informing our Aotearoa narratives.
We have something to pursue in each of us individually, and often we can't see what it is, where we are heading. I like to go the trails that the ancestors took when they did their drawings on the rocks. I would follow their historical footsteps into those shelters, and it's all about wanting to connect.
I applaud all of our rangatahi who are keen to identify with iwi, hapū and whanau wherever they can, and to identify with all the whakapapa that are available to all Māori. I'd be saying to them, take your time. Be immersed. Yes. Be passionate. Yes. But, don't be in a rush to get there, take the small steps, the meaningful steps. If you haven't taken the little steps, what happens when you have to go backwards?
Follow your dreams. Follow where you want to head, follow those things that are important. Follow those narratives that have been handed down to you and then try and express those in your own way. Use that way of working as a springboard to explore the world with.
I still seek my most fulfilling project; it is an evolving journey. I am available to mentor other seekers, other footsteps makers, and thinkers.