Amorangi Hikuroa
E tupu ake au i Whangārei, tētahi rohe o Ngāti Wai
Ko Whangārei au e noho ana
Ko Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Toro, Te Popoto ōku iwi
Ko Maunga Taniwha me Kakepuku ōku maunga
Ko Waihou, Waipa me Waikato ōku awa
Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua me Tainui ōku waka
Ko Hutoia me Te Kopua ōku marae
Ko Amorangi Renata Hikuroa tōku ingoa
Artist Statement
Amorangi Hikuroa works to honor the whakapapa of Māori Uku practices through Te Moana Nui A Kiwa
and beyond.
“Collecting, forming, softening, whakamahi, pausing, returning; uku belongs to an ecology of processes. Fostered by those who formed the pillars of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, the works shaped by Amorangi
demonstrate that the practice of uku is not one of solo pursuit, but of a collective journey -(re)entering
the slipstream of Tupuna consciousness. Amorangi embodies the complex, enduring and living legacies
of ancestral knowledge within his work”. – Dr Ngahuia Harrison
“ We have avenues where Uku can now be utilised within our culture, as ritual ware to mahi kai and made relevant by the work of our mentors and founders of Ngā Kaihanga Uku. So I pay homage to them for giving Māori a pathway back to our ancestral links within the Pacific and reconnecting Māori back to the most ancient of human art forms.”
