Tayla Hartemink

Iwi:  Ngāi Tūhoe, Hōrana

Toi:  Ringa Toi

Akoranga:

Tayla is an illustrator and designer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Through her artwork, she explores her identity as a contemporary wahine Māori, drawing inspiration from pūrākau. Her artistic practice primarily involves digital illustration and design, producing graphics suitable for various applications, including print, laser cutting, and projection. She aspires to articulate the emotions and connections of contemporary Māori while highlighting our profound history and culture.

‘Waitī’ is a part of Tayla’s Matariki Series, created in 2021 to honour the first official Matariki holiday. In 2025, she returned to this kaupapa with new skills and deeper intention, remaking ‘Waitī’ as a tribute to the life-sustaining energy of freshwater and the intimate relationships Māori have with our awa.

Inspired by the bold aesthetic of Robyn Kahukiwa, particularly her depictions of atua and mana wāhine, this piece carries the energy of guardianship, whakapapa, and the gaze of ancestral presence. Waitī speaks to nourishment, care, and the need to protect the sacred waters that feed and shape us.