More info about Chris can be found on the “Meet Our Artists” page.

Te Mata o Rongokako / Te Mata Peak measures: 81cm wide by 50cm high plus 65cm lashing (total height 115cm).

“Taupunga is the Māori word for an anchor — a place that grounds you, holds you steady, and calls you home. This series takes its name from Taupunga, my wife’s marae in Waimārama, named for the anchor stone laid down by the ancestral Takitimu waka. That stone bound the waka to the land, embedding this place with deep whakapapa, memory, and belonging.

Te Mata o Rongokako (Te Mata Peak) stands sentinel over the whenua of Hawke’s Bay, a major landmark of the region and a place that grounds so many. Known as the resting form of the Māori ancestor Rongokako — the sleeping giant, Te Mata watches over Heretaunga, offering orientation, protection, and a deep sense of connection to place.

Crafted from reclaimed rimu, once a well-worn headboard, the timber carries its own history. The natural grain leads the composition, its flowing lines echoing the ridgelines and shifting light of Te Mata. As light moves across the surface, the work changes, reflecting the living nature of the land and our relationship with it. This work is both a taupunga and a taonga — an anchor to whenua, whakapapa, and memory — and a quiet reminder of the pull that draws us home.

Whakataukī: Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au. I am the land, and the land is me”. Chris Birch