TITLE: Rei Puta #6 (Left) Rei Puta #7 (Right)
MATERIAL: Cow Bone
SIZE: #6 - 95mm x 20mm x 7mm, #7 - 100mm x 25mm x 10mm

Bernard Makoare
Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Ngāti Whatua ngā iwi. Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Waiariki, Te Kaitutae ngā hapū.

This Rei Puta is in the form of an ancient Polynesian form and is made from cow bone and decorated in a version of the waewae tupuna patterns.

I live with my wife Hinerangi and our children in Te Taitokerau, Northland. We are heavily involved as a contemporary Māori whānau, with our ancestral obligations to all of our marae across the region.

Traditionally taught as a wood carver with the privilege of tuition from Hemi Edwards (Mei) and Pakaariki Harrison. I am a practising artist/designer. My work is a reflection of my heritage, my environments and the importance I place in whanaungatanga or relationships between people, heritage, places and significant objects. Honouring the privilege of the experiences of tuition I have been invited into, and uplifting the prestige of traditional resources described by ancestral pūrākau and tatai emanating from Hawaiki are responsibilities I take very seriously whilst enjoying the satisfying indulgence of immersing myself in my own authentic creative expressions of who I am and who I want to be.