Manaaki patupaiarehe sculptures, 2001

Manaaki patupaiarehe sculptures, 2001

The artist Dion Hitchens, of Māori (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou) and Chinese descent, has sculpted representations of patupaiarehe, the fairies of the forest. He often uses supplejack (a climbing vine) for his sculptures. But he says a karakia (prayer) before removing supplejack or other materials from a forest tree.