Artwork Information

Ko tā ngā taonga whakarākei a Neke Moa e hangaia matuatia ki te pounamu me ngā rawa o te kāinga, he tūhura ka pēhea te rākeitanga o te tinana e hanga honotanga ai ki te whakapapa o ngā rawa me te hanga. Ko tōna iwi a Kāi Tahu te kaitiaki o te rawa pounamu, ā, ko te tūhura me te whakamātau a Moa he whakatutuki i ōna hononga ā-ahurea, ā-wairua, ā-tūrehurehu ki te rawa nei. He mea maumahara ki ngā whatu whero me te wākihi e whakamahia ana mā te hei tiki pounamu o mua, ko te peita whero kōrahirahi kei roto i *Hinemoana*, 2018, *No hea koe?*, 2019 me *He mea?*, 2019 he kaikawe muramura i te mauri o ngā taonga, ā, he tohu mō te hononga o Moa ki Aotearoa hei tangata whenua.

Working primarily with pounamu (jade), stone and locally sourced materials, Neke Moa’s jewellery practice explores how body adornment can forge connections to a whakapapa (genealogy) of materials and making. Affiliated with Kāi Tahu, the kaitiaki (guardian) of the pounamu resource, Moa’s exploration and experimentation enacts her cultural, spiritual and metaphysical connections to the precious material. Recalling the red eyes and sealing wax used in some customary hei tiki pounamu (jade ornamental pendants), the red enamel paint veining through *Hinemoana*, 2018, *No hea koe?*, 2019 and *He mea?*, 2019 vibrantly conveys the objects’ mauri (life energy) and signifies Moa’s blood connection to Aotearoa as tangata whenua (person of the land).