Gallery

Te Ara Whakaiti, three-quarter view: the rider grips the bull by both horns, the pāua-set tentacle curving down to the bull's head, the tōtara left raw below. Rua carving himself out of the log, red moko and a topknot, the mallet raised beside his head and the chisel at his body. Niwareka: a figure with a topknot, the body worked through with open spaces.
Tikitiki a Mata, from the front: a rounded form of manu folded into each other, eyes of pāua. Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: an open-weave headpiece standing on its own, loose strands falling. Te Ara Whakaiti, from the front: the bull bowed onto its hooves beneath the rider. Rua, from the side.
Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: the close weave where the open lattice begins. Niwareka, turned: the open spaces and the curve of the body.
Niwareka and Rua, side by side: two figures carved from the halves of one log. Te Ara Whakaiti, from the side: the tentacle and the manu rising over the bull. Tikitiki a Mata, from the side: the forms curling around each other.
Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: the headpiece from the side, open weave above and close weave below. Te Ara Whakaiti, from the other side: the hand with the toki, the bull's pāua eye at the base. Rua: the face, red moko and pāua eyes.
Tikitiki a Mata: the carved surface patterns, close. Niwareka: the face, eyes lowered, a hand raised to the mouth, moko on the chin.
Tikitiki a Mata, from the front and below. Te Ara Whakaiti: the tentacle inlaid with pāua enters below the rider's moko, the manu beside it. Te Ara Whakaiti: the toki held high, the masked face, the tentacle running down.
Rua: red moko lines and a pāua inlay, close. Niwareka: the head from the side, the hair carved in fine lines. Tikitiki a Mata: a spiral carved into the edge, close. Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: a woven bodice with a fringed hem, worn, seen from the side.
Tikitiki a Mata: the manu head, its pāua eye and carved beak. Te Ara Whakaiti: the hand holding the toki, the arm carved and inlaid with pāua.
Rua: the carved body, close, where the chisel meets it. Niwareka: the open work of the body, set with pāua. Niwareka and Rua, from the other side, the pale figure and the figure with red moko.
Te Ara Whakaiti: the manu and the tentacle, close. Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: the bodice weave close, bands of colour bound across. Te Ara Whakaiti: detail of the manu's wing and its pāua.
Te Ara Whakaiti: the bull's eye, pāua set into the tōtara. Rua: the kurī at his feet, head bowed.
Niwareka: a manaia curving out of the body, close. Raranga by Ruth Woodbury: the bodice worn, the fringe at the hem.

Whakairo photographs: Joss Wheeler. Raranga photographs: Samantha Ngaera.