Photos make strong mark

Marti Friedlander, Herepo Rongo, from the series The Moko Suite, about 1971, Gelatin silver print. Gift of the Gerrard and Marti Friedlander Charitable Trust, 2009. Te Papa (O.033713)

A stunning exhibition of photographs of Maori kuia taken in the 1960s and 70s is currently showing at the Rotorua Museum.

The rare exhibition comes from Te Papa and is only in Rotorua for a short time. It is a fascinating opportunity for visitors, Maori and Pakeha, to get an insight into a cultural practice that some people don't understand, according to Rotorua Museum communications lead Jo Doherty.

"It's a deep and quite emotional exhibition. You really get a sense of the journey of their life."

Kuia Mau Moko is a set of 29 black and white photographs of kuia who bore the indelible legacy of 'moko kauae' - the tradition of incising and imbedding pigment into the skin on the chin of Maori women.

The photographs were taken to feature in historian Michael King's book Moko - Maori Tattooing in the 20th Century.

"The photographs tell a story of resilience, loss and sorrow for a way of life that was fast slipping away. Of course at the time, none of them realised that within two decades moko kauae would begin a quiet revival," said Te Papa's senior curator Maori Rhonda Paku.

Gifted to Te Papa in 2009 from the Gerrard and Marti Friedlander Charitable Trust, this is the only full set of the original photographs from this collaboration in existence.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Rotorua Museum will host a series of ta moko events early in the New Year.

On January 7 and 8, Te Arawa ta moko artist Richard Francis will demonstrate the art of ta moko.

On January 10 he will give a talk on the history of ta moko and on January 17, four Maori kuia will talk about the meanings behind their own ta moko.