The series of works that follows become ‘nga kanohi whakarite’, visual metaphors for many different manu, past and present that we share the whenua with. They inhabited this land before nga tangata (people) and came forth with their own iwi, hapu and whanau. Their lives and ways have become our ways and being and we see ourselves reflected in and through them. We reflect this back in the korero, waiata, whakatauaki, whakarite, (speaking, song, dance, sayings, metaphors, figures of speech) that are part of our lived and present lives.

Wherever we go they were before us
Wherever we go we have damaged their place
If the wellness of birds is the wellness of the planet
What dare we make of their silence?
(Adrienne Meria)