Kouka Pounamu – Tāniko Choker

Hinauri is from Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Awa. She is a weaver of garments based on traditional Māori clothing styles and form, specialising in whatu and tāniko. She has always been creative, at a very young age she had the desire to learn to weave but was too shy to ask anyone to teach her. Hinauri worked on a number of projects at primary, secondary and tertiary levels dabbling with weaving but nothing created on her own without guidance. She was later fortunate enough to share a time in her life closely connected to the Hetet whānau in Waiwhetu. Being around creativity and exposed to weaving clarified her desire to learn to weave even more. Through several opportunities her journey under the tutelage of Veranoa and guidance from Erenora, her journey as a weaver began. Learning: Hinauri has had a number of ‘one off’ teachers who showed her different techniques in the lead up to taking weaving on as more than a hobby. Four people were at the core of her learning experience. Erenora Puketapu-Hetet is her inspiration and ‘the one’ who believed in her, giving her strength and confidence to be a weaver. Her daughter Veranoa Hetet-Hauwaho also inspires Hinauri, her teacher and on-going mentor. Her mother did tāniko as a hobby in her earlier days and finally her father who has contributed volumes to the written body of knowledge of Māori Arts. Artist Statement: Hinauri loves style and colour which is her signature utilising traditional techniques with varying colour palettes. The widening of her net to other materials is an exploration of her creative abilities which grows her confidence and technical know-how. Tāniko purses and jewellery are feature works as well as creating forms based on weaving techniques with metal, pāua and plastic. She has started a range of forms crafted out of resene.