Suzanne Tamaki

Taonga Talkback TV - Episode Five: Plastic Māori (2020)

1 min 32 secSingle channel / Digital Video / Colour / Sound

"A daily episode of TAONGA from AOTEAROA telling you how it is and disrupting the narrative. If you don't like it, change the channel. #history #educateyourself

Episode five: Plastic Maori 
#plasticmaori #costume #malfunction

Manu the plastic Māori doll draws our attention to the cultural appropriation of Māori culture and taonga. She is an example of kiwiana, which is a New Zealand word used to describe a sense of national identity. Manu’s costume is made up of Māori cultural customs such as raranga (weaving) and whakairo (carving), although she is a symbol of kiwiana culture, Manu exclaims “she is Māori."

Artist's statement

Te pūranga karere me ngā ara mahi houOther works in this series

CIRCUIT is the
leading voice
for artist moving image
practice
in Aotearoa New Zealand,
distributing works,
critical review and
dialogues
which reflect our unique, contemporary
South Pacific context.

Ko CIRCUIT te māngai
mō ngā mahi toi kiriata
o Aotearoa, e tuku
atu ana i ngā mahi toi,
i ngā arotakenga
me ngā whakawhitinga
kōrero e kitea ai
ngā āhuatanga
motuhake o tō tātou noho i te ao hou ki
Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.