Ihaia Puketapu

By Bhavana Bhim & Ella Steele

Ihaia Puketapu, a Wellington based wood carver and former Victoria University student gives us a glimpse into his artistic life and involvement within the community. His inherited carving skills are used to promote knowledge and development to youth groups in the Wellington region. Ihaia is currently working with BGI, the Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute. Through teaching wood carving courses, he encourages youths to work together and learn necessary life skills to grow and become successful leaders. Ihaia’s collaboration with BGI offers us insight into the effect contemporary New Zealand art is having on today’s society.

Puketapu was born in Wellington and grew up in Waiwhetu.  He has a BA from Victoria University, specialising in Maori, Commerce, and Resource Management. After university he started working with young adults from CYF’s houses. His now retired uncle “Rangi Hete” was a master carver and taught Puketapu at his carving school in Waiwhetu.

Puketapu further developed his skills in his last year at Victoria University. He had gaps in his timetable which he used to take up his Uncle’s carving course. He looks up to his Uncle and thinks of him as a very successful artist. Ross Davis, one of the members from BGI (Boys and Girls Institute), approached Puketapu’s Marae looking for a carver to help them build a sculpture for their building project. Puketapu started working part time for BGI shortly after his artistic talent was recognised.

 BGI was founded in 1883 by a group of people linked to St John’s Church in Wellington. The church was looking for an organization that would benefit the younger community. Puketapu collaborated with them by running workshops for young people in woodcarving. Puketapu and his students helped carve the “Poutokomanawa,” (or Pou) which is a traditional pole at the centre of a Marae. Soon after this Puketapu was offered a full time job for a year working on the Poutokomanawa for BGI. They wanted a carving which drew on traditional Maori motifs and combined them with non-traditional motifs in order to represent BGI's history.

According to Puketapu, the carving is “a work in progress.”

“instead of the carving being traditional with Maori images it’s contemporary.”

The collaboration with BGI is a yearlong project. So far the carving depicts figures of importance to the history of BGI with images of mayors such as Sir George Troup and John Aitkin who contributed to the institute.

 One of the challenges that Puketapu faced with this sculpture was depicting western images and motifs. The designs on the wood show stylised figures with objects such as stop watches.

Traditionally, the Maori rule of thumb in carving the proportions of the body is that the head, torso and legs each take up a 3^rd of the figure. Puketapu had to play around with the depiction of western figures and objects to make the proportions realistic. In this situation, the artist stated,

 “The depiction of non-Maori objects are ‘semi-realistic, semi-abstract’, it’s a fusion.”

Puketapu mentioned that carving the Maori figures was easier, as there is a system of cuts made in the wood to project certain symbols, and he was trained in how to create shapes of figures in the traditional way.  However, according to Puketapu, there’s “much more thought” going into the other figures as they are more realistic in depiction. Puketapu combined Maori and Pakeha motifs onto the wood. There is a Celtic Presbyterian pattern which symbolises BGI’s connection to St John’s church, while the background on the side has interloping crescents called “Matakupenga” which signifies ‘interconnectedness.’ At the moment as the work is in progress, Puketapu is deciding on how he will finish the carving with his youth group.

 Apart from his community projects, Puketapu spoke about his interests in the arts. He is inspired by other carvers who turn their lives around, for instance, his uncle Hete who established the carving school to teach others. This inspires Puketapu to help young adults in the community. He is also inspired by the “big names” such as Dali and Da Vinci.

Puketapu pointed out that the carving market in New Zealand is changing and adapting. Before his uncle arrived, there were hardly any carvers at his Marae, but now there are many. There was not much work for carvers initially as it was a bartering system where they had to work for food rather than money. It is an expensive task to carry out traditional carving as there is a shortage of native timber which is very expensive today. Timber availability is an obstacle for carvers who struggle to obtain the correct materials. Apart from timber, the ability to carve with flat basic greenstone chisels that Puketapu’s ancestors used has changed. This is because for the last 150 years Maori adapted to metal tools which European settlers introduced.  Many carvers today are moving into traditional Maori tattooing. Puketapu pointed out that kiwis, who have no Maori ancestry are getting tattoos as part of a shared bi- cultural New Zealand identity and heritage.  Puketapu thinks this is “pretty cool”.

For more information on Puketapu and BGI visit the website: http://www.bgi.org.nz/BGI/Home.html

All quotes by Ihaia Puketapu, interview conducted by Bhavana Bhim and Ella Steele on Friday the 10^th of July 2015, Wellington NZ.