Inside the Aotearoa House was our final second year uni project in which we designed products and/or furniture that represented the bi-cultural nature of our country, Aotearoa. I designed and made the Tāne Table, Seats (not pictured yet) and Papatūānuku Plates and Placemats.
Designer statement: My collection aims to celebrate the act of eating and dining in Māori and Kiwi cultures. I am imagining a world where everyone in New Zealand sits at low dining tables, as Māori traditionally used to eat sitting on the ground. If this were to take place it would help solve the growing issue of bad posture in today’s society. The pātiki/flounder shaped plate holes represent the important Māori value of manaakitanga/hospitality. The plates are slightly sunken into the table to reference the origin of our food, Papatūānuku/Mother Earth and the Māori cooking method hangi. The plates are ceramic (though models are painted timber) to show the Kiwi/British aspect of the collection whereas the wood table and seats show the Māori people’s important connection to the forest god Tāne. Through this project I aim to show the forging of my British and Kiwi cultures - through my Mum and Dad - combined with my connection to Māori culture - through my country and my sisters.
Photography by Yvonne Shaw.
