Artist Statement: Wendy is a water sign, there’s lots of water in her birth chart too – it’s her solace in any form. Her mahi comes back to this theme often – commenting on the great to the downright bad. This mahi speaks to the five oceans of the world, their mauri, and how we need to step up for them now moreso than ever before.
The symbolism therein – the line – the horizon, the vista, the line in the sand.
Four oceans are depicted via the holes in the shell with the fifth, in this case, the Pacific as the koru, wave form, negative space in the centre. It speaks to the new and the old and the enduring patterns – ebb and flow, circular, sunrise, awareness and hope.
The purple crosses balance roimata (tears) with the positivity of the colour, set on one of her favourite media – Pāua shell. The rims in this piece depict her Kete Series of mahi in which taonga are supported, elevated within.
This series also often has a hole in the centre to:
See through to the wearer and have them be part of the conversation, piece and
To also show that a basket with a hole in it can bee a bit of a problem!
Materials: Silver, Pure and Sterling Silver, Pāua, shell, Niobium wire, polyester cord
Special Instructions: As its just been made, the Sterling Silver parts are very susceptible to fingerprint marking till they oxidise a bit
Brand
Wendy Whitehead
Wendy Whitehead (Ngāti Porou, Irish, English) is a body adornment artist who utilises a combination of natural and raw materials such as precious metals, fibres, native wood, shell, stones and more to create unique designer taonga rich in whakapapa.
Each piece is an original design with traditional and contemporary signature features, such as female eyelashes or lips that accentuate the feminine, ira atua, ira wahine, and mana wahine.
Her works are abstracted traditional patterns connecting periods of the past, present and future. Wendy’s technical skill and design processes highlights her unique flair and class as a practicing artist and tutor in this field alongside other great Māori artisans such as Alex Nathan, Lewis Gardiner and other ringatoi around the motu.
A registered Toi Iho artist, Wendy is one of the original first 100 artists to be awarded the Māori quality and authenticity trademark in 2003. She is now recognised as Te Ara Whakarei a lifetime member of Toi Iho.
An expert in fine art soldering, Wendy’s attention to preparing her materials and assembling her innovative thinking into each piece is incredible. She savours every resource available to her and is articulate in expressing her appreciation for the many stories drawn on by her whakapapa. The necklace featured above is called ‘Kōkako Manu Tukutuku’, a timely piece to acknowledge the Ōtaki Kite Festival 2025:
“Kites, or manu tukutuku, have always played an important role in Māori culture, particularly during the winter season when they were flown to signify the start of Matariki, the Māori New Year. Our tūpuna flew kites for recreation, but also to communicate with other hapū as well as a means to communicate with those who had passed on, connecting heaven and earth."
71%
$750.00
1 in stock
Description
Title: 71%
Artist: Wendy Whitehead – Toi Iho Arist
Iwi: Ngāti Porou
Description: Contemporary Māori Adornment
Artist Statement: Wendy is a water sign, there’s lots of water in her birth chart too – it’s her solace in any form. Her mahi comes back to this theme often – commenting on the great to the downright bad. This mahi speaks to the five oceans of the world, their mauri, and how we need to step up for them now moreso than ever before.
The symbolism therein – the line – the horizon, the vista, the line in the sand.
Four oceans are depicted via the holes in the shell with the fifth, in this case, the Pacific as the koru, wave form, negative space in the centre. It speaks to the new and the old and the enduring patterns – ebb and flow, circular, sunrise, awareness and hope.
The purple crosses balance roimata (tears) with the positivity of the colour, set on one of her favourite media – Pāua shell. The rims in this piece depict her Kete Series of mahi in which taonga are supported, elevated within.
This series also often has a hole in the centre to:
Materials: Silver, Pure and Sterling Silver, Pāua, shell, Niobium wire, polyester cord
Special Instructions: As its just been made, the Sterling Silver parts are very susceptible to fingerprint marking till they oxidise a bit
Brand
Wendy Whitehead
“Kites, or manu tukutuku, have always played an important role in Māori culture, particularly during the winter season when they were flown to signify the start of Matariki, the Māori New Year. Our tūpuna flew kites for recreation, but also to communicate with other hapū as well as a means to communicate with those who had passed on, connecting heaven and earth."
Related products
Paku Taputapu
Matariki Print Series
Myths and Legends of the Ancient Pākehā
Raperape Pūhoro