Francis Rei Paul Hamon CBE (17 December 1919 – 16 August 2008) was a New Zealand landscape artist. In 1976 his Original titled “Jewels of Okarito” was presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the New Zealand Government on the occasion of her silver jubilee state visit.
(courtesy of hamonart.com)
Utilizing a self-taught style of pointillism, Hamon’s familiarity with the flora and fauna of the bush grew from the time that he worked splitting posts for sheep pens in the forests of the Urewera area.
Hamon was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to art in the 1981 New Year Honours. Rei Hamon was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Awanui is a diverse multi-disciplinary artist. From painting realism and surrealism through to carving wood, bone, pounamu or vast murals, Awanui is at home in any artistic environment.
“What I learnt from my father Rei was not only the discipline of fine arts but to have compassion for all lifeforms and our interconnection with the universe.”
BIOGRAPHY:
Father – Rei Paul Francis Hamon.
Mother – Maia Pohoiwi.
Second eldest child Joseph, Awanui, Phyllis and Tina.
Tribal Affiliation: Ngati Porou.
Lived along the Thames Coast on the Coromandel Peninsula NZ. Completed Commercial Art Course through correspondence with the Australian Art Training Institute Melbourne.
Awanui has four beautiful children – Huia, Francis, Azalia and Jason.
Huia is a musician and artist involved in the te reo Māori music scene. She’s also world famous for her behind the scenes work as top festivals in NZ like Splore. Huia wears many hats and when she’s not ‘arting’ or singing or organising, she is running Integrity Promotion and Kog Studio.
He uri nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngai Tūhoe, Te Ati Hau Nui A Paparangi, Natasha is an exceptional visual artist who creates her own image of indigenous women.
She uses recycled timber, capturing its own energy, and creates pou | post or totem like artworks that capture the essence of te taha wahine, mana wahine.
Darin’s carvings are highly sought after right across Hauraki and Aotearoa, often being commissioned for private collections.
He works out of the ‘Big Red Shed’, located where the old Thames Railway Station used to be, on Queen Street, right behind the Ngāti Maru (local iwi) offices.
His works is made with a lot of love and expertise, and he is one of the only traditional Māori artists featured by ArohArt.
Shane is an artist, a graphic, furniture and fashion designer, a loving husband and doting Dad to two boys. Born in New Zealand in the 1970s, he is of Māori (Tainui, Ngāti Mahanga, Ngāti Hine), Chinese, Danish and Scottish descent. The benefactor of a life lived long and well in Aotearoa. This country is in his blood, his heart and in his art.
His artistic world is one of bold colours, modern Māori motifs, optimism and clarity, inspired by his journey of cultural discovery and an admiration for pop-art, strong graphics and the environment that surrounds him.
As well as depicting the various shapes and tones of Aotearoa, Shane’s works express, confront and celebrate who he is, where he’s from and how he feels. Shane describes his work aptly: “it’s my therapy, kai for the mind and soul”.
Laurette married in to the Hauraki area and is the wonderful wahine behind Arohart’s woven wonders.
Laurette finds the inspiration and aspiration to weave from her late mother and grandmother. As her fingers weave, they retrace the same steps the women whom she admires so much made before her.
The process of weaving is the continued connection from her to them, and to all the other weavers that inspire her in her work.
Tikirau is a proud Kura Kaupapa Māori graduate and has been educated in total immersion Te Reo Māori institutions from the age of one.
He started his working life early as a camera assist in television. He then moved on to take a lead role in film as an actor in the most awesome movie Kiwi Flyer. He was just 14.
Tiki has featured on tv shows like Swagger and Miharo as a presenter and also worked as a camera operator for Cinco Cine‘s flagship production Pūkana.
But his true love has always been graphic design, and once school was done and dusted he took his graphics love to the tertiary level. He’s currently in his third year of his degree.
He’s the head and boss of everything for his own label ToiTiki. He is also a junior motion graphics artist at Mediaworks.
Little Things is a home based accessory business run out of Whāngarei by local mother Shannon Pitman. Each accessory has been designed with one of three mantras in mind – be bold, choose confidence, feel fabulous.
The “Raukura” range has been hugely popular throughout Aotearoa after making its initial impact through Tukau Legacy clothing company.
Each piece is handmade with love by Shannon.
The wāhine behind Tuhi Stationery Ltd share a common bond – they LOVE being wāhine Māori. They were raised with nannies who loved to write and keep journals, who told stories of the marama and taiao, who spoke of Māori history as voyagers, strategists, and kaitiaki and reinforced that wmoen could be anything, anywhere in the world.
As adults in corporate worlds, Tuhi’s creators use stationery and planning tools daily, but struggled to find resources in Te Reo Māori, that acknowledged the Māori world view, way of life and ways of planning. So out of pure frustration from not “seeing ourselves” in the tools they used, they decided to create their own.
KAREN TE Ō KAHURANGI WAAKA-TIBBLE
NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA, TUHOURANGI – WAHIAO, NGĀTI WHAKAUE, NGĀTI PUKEKO
MICHELLE MIHI KEITA TIBBLE
NGĀTI POROU, TE WHĀNUI Ā APANUI, TE ARAWA, NGĀTI AWA
GENEVA HARRISON
TE AUPOURI, TE RARAWA, NGATI KAHU
Aroha Hathaway
Owner and operator of Arohart and art curator and contributor.