Ngā Mata O Te Ariki Tāwhirimātea

Matariki” is a shortened name derived from the kiwaha (phrase) “Nga mata o te ariki Tāwhirimātea - The eyes of the God Tāwhirimātea”.

For this piece, I wanted to reflect more on Tāwhirimātea as a visual representation of the origin story of Matariki. In Māori mythology and creation story, when Ranginui and Papatūānuku were split apart by their children, one of their sons Tawhirimātea - the god of the weather - was enraged and mourned his parents' separation and wanted revenge. Many of his siblings were scared by his power, but after being beaten by his brother Tumatauenga (the god of war) in battle, Tāwhirimātea tore out his eyes, crushed them, and threw them into the heavens, creating the constellation of Matariki. He would then remain in the sky with his father Ranginui.

From this kōrero, I conceptualised the eyes of Tāwhirimātea, making them the focus of this piece. Incorporating the whetū was an important design choice to have them within his eyes - seen as diamond shapes twinkling within, depicting their origin story. Taking some creative freedom in the placement of the constellation, the mother star “Matariki” is the brightest star seen guiding her 8 children.

It made sense to me to place her right in the middle, the center of the constellation acting like the seen third eye. His eyebrows and wrinkles are subtle, not to overwhelm the cohesiveness of this artwork, but to depict the unseen winds of Tāwhirimātea. His mataora is simple yet very strong - connecting with the Matariki star that aesthetically showcases the mana of this atua.

My goal was to make this piece glow - so using a limited color palette was key. There are hints of green, red, pinks, and yellow above the eyes, but for the most part, many shades of blue used in conjunction with a flat white truly brought this piece to life.