FOX Racing have teamed up with Te Puia /New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute to create a custom helmet inspired by Crankworx Rotorua. Photo/Supplied
FOX Racing have teamed up with Te Puia /New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute to create a custom helmet inspired by Crankworx Rotorua. Photo/Supplied
A distinctly Maori designed custom helmet will be up for grabs as a competition prize at Crankworx Rotorua this week.
Designed by New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Tohunga Whakairo (master carver), Clive Fugill, the design represents everything that is unique and special about Crankworx Rotorua, with a design motif that is distinctly Maori and Te Arawa.
Encapsulating speed, acceleration, and Rotorua's dirt gold, FOX Racing have teamed up with Te Puia and New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute to create the helmet.
Te Puia general manager sales and marketing Kiri Atkinson-Crean said Crankworx had quickly become one of the key highlights on Rotorua and New Zealand's events calendar attracting thousands of national and international guests each year.
"Te Arawa people have been welcoming visitors to Rotorua since the late 1800s, and more than a century later, Maori arts, crafts and culture are incorporated in everything that we do today - it is our identity and it is what defines us.
"Applying our uniquely Maori concepts to this fresh, contemporary medium is an innovative way to profile Maori culture, values and traditions in today's world."
Inspired by two concepts, the puhoro design represents speed and acceleration, while the kowhaiwhai design represents the natural outdoor environment that Crankworx athletes compete in.
The custom Proframe mountain bike helmet is up for grabs to anyone who demos a Proframe on site at Crankworx Rotorua. Photo/Supplied
Mr Fugill said the puhoro design was reflective of the ripple effect produced by a river's water current symbolising power, strength, stamina and speed.
"Traditionally, the design was placed on the thighs of 'Toa' or 'Maori warriors' to harness the power of flowing water and to capture it within the thighs of a fighter during warfare," he said.
"The kowhaiwhai design is a representation of the natural world. Whereas whakairo rakau (wood carving) was used to capture the tangible and what can clearly be seen, kowhaiwhai were used to capture the intangible and the unseen.
"The colours - red, white and black - are time-honoured colours used in pre-European times. Red represents papatuanuku (mother earth), white symbolises the domain of lo (the penultimate being) who resides among the heavens, while black is a reference to Te Kore (the void)."
FOX international marketing manager Maria Pando said FOX Racing had worked closely with Te Puia and New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute to create a Maori motif that was a true representation of Rotorua, New Zealand, their people, and their culture.
"For this custom painted Proframe helmet giveaway, we wanted to make sure we were capturing the culture and heritage this amazing region has to offer, so it made sense to work with Te Puia to collaborate on this project and make it as authentic as possible, and the outcome is truly amazing.
"This custom painted helmet will be one of the main attractions at our FOX booth at Crankworx and is the first in a series of custom painted Proframes we will be giving away throughout the Crankworx World Tour.
"Anyone who tests out our brand new Proframe helmet is eligible for a chance to win," she said.
"Only two helmets have been made; one lucky mountain biker in Rotorua will take a helmet home, while the other will remain at Te Puia | NZMACI and be displayed alongside the incredible Māori works of art their wānanga schools create."
