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Download AudioA Māori artist is making it his mission to put a Māori presence on the landscape.
Graham Tipene had been commissioned to add his designs to projects including the Waterview Tunnel entrance, the Tirohanga Whānui walking and cycling bridge at Albany, Auckland Central City Library and the new south atrium at Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira.
He says growing up in Tāmaki Makaurau, that museum was one of the few places he could go to see anything Maori.
“My job I believe is to make our deign, our artwork, , our engineering, our architecture, to advise on how to make that prolific and put it everywhere so that the kids current growing up don’t feel alien, they see themselves in the landscape,” Tipene says.
He says he tries to ensure Maori are part of the design rather than an add on.
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