Anna Hayes
Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga exhibiting artist
Waita (2012) flax on canvas
Ko Moumoukai te maunga
Ko Nūhaka te awa
Ko Takitimu te waka
Ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa te iwi
Ko Ngāti Rakaipaaka te hapu
Ko Kahungunu te marae
Ko Rotorua tōku kainga
Ko Jason Moeau tāku tāne
Ko Anna Hayes tōku ingoa
Born in Tiniroto and raised in Ruakituri, Northern Hawke Bay, New Zealand, my childhood revolved around riding horses, hunting, fishing, and loving the land. This connection to the natural world is evident in my work, which brings together elements from Aotearoa’s natural environment in a unique and evocative way.
Now based in Rotorua, New Zealand, I draw on the knowledge and creativity inherited from my ancestors to bring weaving to life in a modern style. My work has been featured internationally in galleries and across the country as solo exhibitions and in collaboration with other artists.
I have a Bachelor in Māori Visual Art and a Diploma in Māori Language. In addition to creating my own works of art I run workshops from my studio, teaching others the Māori art of weaving. When I’m not in the studio you can find me drawing inspiration from Aotearoa’s great outdoors with my partner Jason.
Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga 2020
Every culture uses weaving for necessity. For clothing, shelter, to catch food, eat food from, to tell stories. Covid-19 is a story being told in the media everyday around the world. Now it is woven into our lives. Yellow, black and white, the colours associated with official Covid-19 information.
Through Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga, the history of weaving can live on as a global method for story telling.This pattern, niho taniwha, symbolises whanau and a chief’s lineage from the Gods.