A bronze sculpture of the second Maori King Tawhiao, with prominent cheek bones and an intricate deep cut ta moko design, was unveiled at the Waikato Museum in August.
Artist Gary Schofield (Hall House 1970-74) was honoured to see his artwork sitting alongside portraits of Maori kings and the late Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
“The elders and carvers have accepted and endorsed my work. It was an intense process for me to actually start with a photograph and recreate the three dimensional quality of [the second Maori King’s] face,” Schofield said.
The sculpture, which has been stored at Schofield’s family home in Hamilton for almost three decades, was gifted to Hamilton (and its people) for the city’s 150th birthday.
“I didn’t know what it would look like in the end in its final place, so when I walked into the museum and saw it for the first time, it was breath taking – it’s our heritage unique to the world.”
