Coming of Age | 2006 | rychel therin artist

Coming of Age | 2006

E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tō ao;

Ko to ringaringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā

Hei oranga mō tō tinana;

Ko tō ngākau ki ngā taonga o ō tīpuna, hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga.

Ko tō wairua ki tō Atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa.

Grow, tender shoot, for the days of your world.

Turn your hand to the tools of the Pākehā

for the wellbeing of your body.

Turn your heart to the treasures of your ancestors as a crown for your head.

Give your soul unto God, the author of all things

(Māori proverb)

Coming of Age. 2006. Oil on Canvas.

I wrote this in 2005. It lays out the question at the root of my work for the last 15 years. How can you be complete in your hybridity? What do you have to do to get there? How to I get my identities to sit together at the same table?