I've just finished a great matau (fish hook), and am putting the finshing touches on another. The matau is an old Maori symbol, which is in common use today, often as pendants. The matau is the symbol of prosperity and abundance (fish were abundant in those days!), and because fishermen were the hunter gatherers on the ocean, matau also symbolise courage and protection on, and near water.
At the top, I've put a koru, or fern frond, which symbolises new life, and the negative space between the shaft and the hook also forms a koru.
The matau is made from red beech, and has the most amazng fiddleback (shimmies) in it.
This sculpture, in it's raw state, was quite thick, so I split it down the middle. I was going to do two the same; mirror images of each other, but the second piece has morphed into something quite different, but it's not quite finished yet, so you're going to have to wait for that one.
This one has a very different texture on each side, as one side came from the outside, and one from the middle. The outside side, I've left much of it in it's natural state, but the other side really shows off the fiddleback amazingly.
I've put it on a stand, but left it so it can be removed from the stand, and I've applied felt to the inside of the stand so it doesn't damage the matau. Ive done all of this so that the buyer has the option of leaving it in the stand, or taking it out and hanging it on the wall, showing off whichever side they prefer. The stand itself is a beautiful piece of wood, made from pohutukawa.
I've just delivered it to Kura Gallery in Lower Albert St., Auckland Ph +64 (09) 302 1151 e: auckland@kuragallery.co.nz.
