Living art on skin fascinates artist Henriata Nicholas.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
He tino pukumahi ki te mahi toi
He tangata hōroi whareiti, he tangata hōroi pātara, he ringa wera ka oti ana he pou tuitui pūeru, anei ētehi o āna mahi hai tētehi wahine tino mōhiotia ana e te iwi mō āna mahi tā moko, ara ko Henriata Nicholas, nā aua takahanga katoa i tae tika ai ia ki tōna nōhanga nei.
"Nōku e itiiti ai tino mōhio ai ahau he wairua toi ki taku poho, he ahakoa e kūare ana i taua wā, he mōhio nōku tāria te wā ka puta mai taku tino hiahia". He uri nō Ngāti Whakaue, whai pānga ai hoki ki a Ngāti Turumakina, ki a Ngāti Unu me Ngāti Kahu, he wahine noho marae.
"Ko tā mātou mahi i Paratehoata he hōroi whareiti, kai te taringa tonu ngā whakahau a ngā mātua ki a mau ki a kotou ake, 'pinnies' ki ngā pēke ki a tika ai ā mātou mahi i te marae. Ka nui taku noho i Tapiti i Ohinemutu i Te Mahau me Te Kopua he marae katoa wēnei. Māori kau te noho.
I whānau ai, i kuraina ai i te takere waka o Te Arawa nā tōna kuia ia i ako ki te raranga i te New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts koia tētehi o ngā ākonga a Emily Schuster. " Nā tēnā wā tonu ko te noho tahi me ngā kuia i ū ai te mauri o te toi ki roto ki ahau mō te wehi kai a rātou, me te whakarākei, kai a rātou, koina taku hiahia, he aroha ki te kaupapa, ki te whakaniko, ki ngā kame, ki te waihanga ka oti ana he taonga whakahirahira".
Nā tēnei hoki i pūāwai mai tona aroha nui ki te whakairo.
"Nā taku nohonoho i taua wāhi i tuwhera katoa ōku kanohi ki ngā kaupapa toi o tātou te Māori, engari te whakairo , kai reira te hiahia, e noho ana, e whakarongo ana e titiro atu ana ki ngā tauira e whakairo ana me ngā tini whakaniko hoki. Ka reka katoa ki ahau te kakara o te paru, wheoi anō rā ko te harikoa e pupū ake ana i ngā whatumanawa o ngā tauhou e mātakitaki haere ana i ngā tohunga nā".
Nāna e mahi ana ka eke ai āna pūkenga ki tētehi taumata rangatira, kātahi ia ka tahuri ai ki tētehi karaehe mahi toi i Waiariki.
"Nāku tonu i utu kia ea ai te nama, e ako ana, e mahi ana. Ko taua tau tonu i tino whānui hoki ai ngā whakaaro ōku o te ao toi Māori me te toi hou, inā rā he mana tō te ahumahi, he mana tō te ao whakanikoniko, whaihoki te ao kāone, ka whakawhiti ao ahau e whia kē ngā taima. Mai i reira ka noho ahau hai pou whakanikoniko mō ngā tau e rima mō tētehi kamupene pūeru i Rotorua, he noho, he ako tonu ki a mātau ai ahau ki ngā wāhanga katoa , nā reira ka tupu anō taku kete mātauranga nā wai rā ka mōhio ahau ki te mahi waitohu me te whakarākei pukapuka engari tūturu a Māori nei.
"Nō tēnei wā tonu ka pupū ake ai te hiahia ki te whakawhiti ki te tuhi tapeha tangata. Kua kite noa ahau i taku tuakana me etehi o ona hoa whakairo e whakaora ana i te tā moko i te wā o te waru tekau, ka nui taku whakamiharo e titiro ana ki te tapeha e korikori ana, nā reira i hū nuku ahau ki Tamaki i te tau kotahi mano e iwa rau, e iwa tekau mā rima.
Acknowledging some of the fine artwork created by Henriata, and located in different parts of Aotearoa.
"Ka noho tauira ahau ki taku tuakana, koia te iti e hāpai ana i tēnei momo i taua wā me te mea hoki kāore e tino pai ana ki ētehi o ngā tāne ki a noho mai he wahine ki te ako i tēnei āhuatanga".
Wheoi anō e ako ana, e mahi ana anō a Henriata ko tana mahi he mahi toi whakanikoniko.
Ka hipa ngā tau e rima kua piki ia ki te taumata pou rangatira ka tahuri ia ki ngā wānanga moko puta noa i te motu ia mutunga wiki, ā , me ngā wā wātea hoki. Kātahi ia ka kite i tona tuakana e mahi uhi ana, nā, kua puta hoki ki a ia te hiahia. Ko te orokohanga mai tēnei o te kaupapa Te Uhi o Mataora.
"I te whakaterenga o Te Uhi i Takaparawhā i Orakei i Tamaki Makaurau ka tūtaki ahau ki a Keone Nunes me Vaughan Victor e mahi kakau ana. Ko taku whanaunga te tupapaku e takoto ana taku kitenga atu i a ia ka tae te mōhiotanga kia tāhuri ahau ki te ako i tēnā puna mātauranga.
Ka nui te whakaaetanga a Keone ki te ako i a ia me te hanga i ngā taputapu . Ka puta i a ia te pātai, " taku take ki te ako ?", ko tāku kia whakawhanake ake i taku puna kia tūhaina ki te mārea.
Mō ngā tau e rua ka tono pūtea ai ahau ki a noho ākonga ahau ki a Keone me ngā tauira āna. I te tau e rua mano mā toru ka whakaaengia taku tono e Creative New Zealand ka haere au ki Hawaii ako ai mō ngā marama e toru.
I te tau e rua mano mā whā, ka tīmatangia taku pūhoro tuatahi ā tāne hoki me aku uhi, nā ko Ngahuia Te Awekotuku taku pou awhina, he wherawhera i te tapeha kia tika ai taku uhi, ko Waimarie Nikora te wahine hopu ripene, me te tini o te māramatanga i puta mai. Kua pau ngā tau e rua tekau, nōku te waimaria kua noho ahau me ngā tini rangatira o te ao, e whakapono nei ki taku mahi me aku pukenga tā moko,kauwae mai he aha noa atu me ngā tini whakakitenga hoki kua tae kē ahau".
E noho tahi ana a Henriata me tana mākau a Marc Lenton ki tua tata o ngā ana o Waitomo. Ko te pae tawhiti he whakarite mai i te rautaki e ora ai tēnei tū āhuatanga kia noho hoki , kia mahi hoki ia i tōna ake kāinga i Waitomo. "E marino ai te wairua ko te whenua taku hiringa, ā runga, ā raro hoki".
Marae toilet cleaner, bottle washer, waitress and sewing factory machinist.
Those are just some of the jobs accomplished creative and pioneer ta moko artist Henriata Nicholas tackled on the path to achieving her ultimate goal.
"I knew from an early age that I wanted to create, make or do something in the visual arts for a career, I just didn't know what 'it' was or how to achieve 'it'."
The uri of Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Turumakina, Ngāti Unu, and Ngāti Kahu was brought up to engage at their marae.
"Our whānau role at Paratehoata marae was to whakarite ngā wharepaku. We (siblings and cousins) were taught always carry our own 'pinnies' in our bags to help out when we visited any marae, it was to fulfill our duty to our tīpuna matua role within our hapū where and when we could. I spent most of my life around Tapiti, Ohinemutu, Te Mahau and Te Kopua marae."
Born and educated in Rotorua, Henriata learned raranga sitting with her mother, Nan, at the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute where she was in an intake of weavers taught by the late Emily Schuster.
"That time spent with my mother and the weavers, was like a foundation course of study in cultural art. The artists exemplified everything I wanted to possess – a love for the kaupapa, design, materials, construction, and final product. Each one created with aroha and attention to detail."
That was also where Henriata got a close-up look at carving.
"Spending time at the institute also opened my eyes to whakairo – watching and listening to how the boys carve out 3D effigies with intricate patterns from a huge hunks of wood.
Time Spent with Weavers, was like a foundation course of study in Cultural Art.
"I loved the smell of paru and enjoyed seeing visitors from around the world engage with our Māori culture through the arts."
Most of Henriata's skills were honed on the job. She attended a one-year commercial design course at Waiariki Technical Institute.
"I funded myself and worked to subsidise the cost of the certificate. That year enabled me to diversify my ideas around how cultural arts could be utilised across and within contemporary realms such as industrial and commercial graphic design and printed media.
I switched from an interest in fashion to design across the board.
"From there I worked for five years as a graphic artist for a commercial clothing printer in Rotorua understanding all the processes from hand-cut stencils graduating to computer graphic sublimation prints.
"I learnt how to digitise patterns on computer and manipulate them. This meant I could broaden my design skills to include logo and book design specialising in Māori graphics.
"It was then I really wanted to transpose my design skills onto skin. I had seen my brother and some of his whakairo friends reviving the art of ta moko during the 80s. It was amazing to see them create living art on skin.
"I was drawn to the art form of marking skin and in 1995, I moved to Tāmaki to apprentice under my brother, who at the time was one of a few artists who would train wāhine."
To make ends meet, Henriata got a day job with INL print media first as a hand grapic artist in the marketing and sales department. Within five years she was creative department supervisor and attended moko wānanga around the motū every weekend and spare time.
And then she saw her brother use uhi and that was it.
"Something about that tool captivated me to the point of never working on machines. I went straight to finding someone to teach me how to hand make uhi tools."
It was the beginning of Te Uhi o Mataora, who were developing into a national roopū of Māori tattoo artists under the auspices of Toi Maori.
"It was at the launch of Te Uhi at Takaparawha in Orakei Tāmaki Makaurau I met Keone Nunes and Vaughn Victor who were demonstrating Kakau on my cousin.
"Her kauwae was being created with handmade tools and I knew I was meant to learn this artform. Keone offered to teach a few of us how to make and use tools. He asked 'why' I wanted to learn. I replied that I wanted to grow my knowledge to teach others. For the next two years I sought funding to go to study with Keone and his apprentices.
"In 2003, I received Creative New Zealand funding which allowed me to study and live in Hawaii for three months.
"In June 2004, I started my first male puhoro with my Uhi tools with Ngahuia Te Awekotuku as my stretcher and Waimarie Nikora visually recording the mahi. It was a great piece to learn on.
"Nearly 20 years on and I've been honoured to have worked on many wāhine kauwae and body markings. I've also exhibited and demonstrated in Tattoo shows."
Henriata lives with her partner Marc Lenton "just up the road from the Waitomo Caves".
Her succession plan is to create and develop art work from our studio and home in Waitomo.
"It soothes my wairua and the whenua is so inspiring – above and underneath."
