Dr Te Rita Papesch

Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whakaue, Czech.
Joined the exhibition in Hamilton in November 2022.

Te Rita has used her voice in more than one way across her life - to sing, teach, bring te reo Maaori back in her whaanau, and to speak up for herself.

Her love for academia, for her family and for her friends ripples around her, leaving a beautiful legacy to her tamariki and mokopuna.

Follow the exhibition’s journey here:

PHOTO PORTRAIT DESCRIPTION

Te Rita’s mouth is closed and her eyes narrowed as she seems to be holding in a laugh. Her lips and chin are decorated in a swirling blue-green moko kauae with a smaller tā moko faintly visible on her forehead beneath her blue fringe. The rest of her hair is blue with purple tinges and hangs long over the feather korowai that rests over her shoulders.

She has long roimata or teardrop shaped pounamu earrings with gold fittings at the top, echoed in her necklace which is made of 2cm long pounamu cylinders with gold connectors on each end.

Her cloak has a cream coloured woven tāniko made from muka (flax fibres) across the top and diagonal stripes of brown and creamy coloured fluffy feathers. It sweeps over her shoulders and covers her arms.

Hamilton Exhibition November 2022

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