15 November 2025–24 May 2026

Whakairo Kereama Taepa

Step into a vast space, where tradition is not only preserved, but transformed – where the carved line becomes light, movement and code.

Whakairo by Kereama Taepa is a bold fusion of tradition and technology, in which the ancestral art of Māori whakairo (carving) meets the evolving language of augmented reality (AR). In this interactive exhibition, Taepa explores the role of whakairo in contemporary Aotearoa, extending its presence beyond physical form into the digital realm.

Using AR as both a tool and medium, and rooted in mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge systems), Whakairo invites audiences to experience carved forms that emerge and respond in real-time – activated through a mobile device, viewed through an app and placed within both physical and virtual landscapes.

Whakairo Wall Text Audio English

Whakairo Wall Text Audio Te Reo Māori

Artist Bios

Kereama Taepa Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa, Tauranga Moana

Taepa completed his Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University in Palmerston North, followed by his Master’s degree. Also a teacher, Kereama has taught at Te Whare Wānanga O Awanuiārangi Art and Visual Culture Degree and currently teaches in the Creative Industries department at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (Tauranga, New Zealand).

His involvement in the arts has been broad and varied, including as a bronze technician at the Dibble Arts Foundry and participating in various national Māori arts symposiums, workshops and hui. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has works in collections across New Zealand and abroad. He unveiled ‘Tohorā’ on the Kāpiti Coast in 2020 and 'Pōhutukawa’ on the Tauranga Waterfront in 2018. Other major public works include the ‘a (very) brief history of Aotearoa’ sculptures for the Four Plinths Sculpture Project in Wellington (2016) and a public sculpture titled ‘tichi’ in New Plymouth (2015).

Taepa was the Supreme Award winner in the 2017 Rotorua Art Awards, won the Molly Morpeth 2D Art Award in 2008 and was Runner-up in the National Art Awards in 2018.

He has recently been in residence at Fondation Fiminco, France, supported by the IndigenousCuratorial Collective.