Strength and whakapapa can be symbolised through the continually unfolding form of the koru.   As a symbol taken from nature, the koru represents a holistic approach to identity and personal development and can be interpreted as an expression of the infinite possibilities of time and circumstance. 

Hard-edged and tightly interwoven, the pen and ink images in ‘Rahurahu’ are intensely organic, expanding outwards in interlacing patterns similar to the myriad strands of a fern. These overlap, dominate and are dominated by their surroundings representing the complex interaction of relationships and choices in our unfolding lives.

These elaborate black and white images contrast highly with the softness and simplicity of a series of pencil renderings which develop the portrait through the use of the koru to talk of contemplation and a connection with ancestry and the past.

The juxtaposition within the gallery space of these two sets of images portrays the physicality and complexity of our corporeal bodies overlaid with the emotional awareness of our lives as another link on the ever expanding chain of relationships and experiences which we are all a part of.

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