Zena Elliott is a contemporary New Zealand artist whose work draws on popular culture – including games such as Grand Theft Auto – and abstract art\u00a0which she then blends with\u00a0M\u0101ori concepts. One concept central to traditional M\u0101ori knowledge\u00a0is whakapapa, which loosely means genealogy. It is a complex framework that links\u00a0and binds all things.<\/p>\n
An elder from New Zealand’s East Coast, \u00a0\u0100pirana Ngata has described\u00a0whakapapa as \u2018the process of laying one thing upon another. If you visualise the foundation ancestors as the first generation, the next and succeeding ancestors are placed on them in ordered layers.\u2019<\/p>\n
By weaving these concepts with contemporary Western painting, Zena’s works\u00a0buzz with the ihi<\/em> (power to mesmerise) and wehi<\/em> (power and might) of a stirring haka, yet still remain accessible to a global audience.<\/p>\n Perhaps you could choose clothes a props that symbolise your own past histories when you recreate this painting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Zena Elliott is a contemporary New Zealand artist whose work draws on popular culture – including games such as Grand Theft Auto – and abstract art\u00a0which she then blends with\u00a0M\u0101ori concepts. One concept central to traditional M\u0101ori knowledge\u00a0is whakapapa, which loosely means genealogy. It is a complex framework that links\u00a0and binds all things. An elder … Continue reading Guy with Car<\/span>