Tiki
Two, side by side
Mirror and companion
Two figures stand side by side, almost identical: two great round eyes each, the same tilted heads, the same curling forms. They are like twins, or reflections, or old friends who have stood together so long they’ve started to look alike.
There’s a strong, joyful rhythm to them. Look at one, then the other, and your eye starts to bounce between them like a drumbeat. Look longer, and you start to notice the small conversations between their shapes: the curves that echo each other, the triangles stacked like steps, the hands folded at the sides.
Together they feel steady and protective, like two guardians standing at a doorway. Whatever they are watching for, they’re watching for it together.
About tiki
The word tiki is closely associated with the hei tiki, a carved neck ornament. Te Ara notes that traditions differ about what the hei tiki represents. One suggests it represents Hineteiwaiwa, an atua associated with fertility; others say it represents Tiki, the first man, or an embryo.
Our design is a bold, graphic contemporary piece. We don’t present it as a hei tiki or assign customary meanings to its forms. But the title invites us to remember the long tradition behind that word, and the many meanings it carries.
The artwork
This is the boldest graphic design in the collection. Two stylised figures stand side by side, rendered in solid pale shapes against the near-black slate, with no shading at all, just pure contrast. Each has a large rounded head with two circular eyes and curling shapes above, a body built from scrolls and loops, hands with three fingers at either side, a stack of small triangles at the centre, and a rounded base below.
The power of the piece comes from its simplicity and repetition. The clean, confident shapes read clearly from across a room, while up close the interlocking curves reward a slower look. Against the dark slate and its natural edge, the white forms seem almost to glow.
Tribute
A tribute made with respect Our work is a contemporary artistic response to Māori storytelling and its deep connections with land, sea and ancestry. The visual interpretation offered here is Aroha Artisan’s. The traditions themselves belong to the communities who hold and pass them on, and the published accounts below offer a starting point for further learning.
Published accounts:
Hope Tupara, “Te whānau tamariki – pregnancy and birth” (hei tiki image and caption), Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/27621/hei-tiki