Pounamu Wharekawa (Ngai te Rangi, they / themme / ia) is an angry indigenous bad bitch, fine artist, illustrator and muralist. They make art that speaks about intersections of identity through the lens of a queer, small town turned urban turned small town again Māori living their best boring life back in the house they grew up in beautiful Whāingaroa
Photography and edit by Tim Carter
Pounamu’s art often straddles the line between the surreal and the mundane, seeing beauty in the everyday and balancing quiet moments of peaceful introspection with undertones of inherited outrage.
Their work is traditional pūrākau meets urbanised brat, using vibrant palettes to imagine a world where their ancestors and atua live on in technicolour; dancing alongside them in the club and sending them memes on Instagram.
Pounamu is riding a wave of rediscovery and reclamation, reaping the benefits made through the work of those who came before them and striving to make the journey easier for those who come after.
Experience
Awards
2020:
Portfolio Art Hire Award
RAMP Gallery Outstanding Volunteer Award
2019:
Mark One Comics Visual Narrative Award
RAMP Gallery Outstanding Volunteer Award
Education
2019-2021:
Bachelor of Contemporary Art
Waikato Institute of Technology
Media/Interviews
Exhibitions
2024:
Trick or Treaty
(Group Show)
Creative Arts Napier
2022:
E HIKA!
(Solo show)
Nancy Caiger Gallery
2021:
Hononga
(Group show, mural installation)
Hoea! Gallery and Project Space
2020:
Auction This!
(Group show)
RAMP Gallery
Wintec School of Media Arts Student Showcase
(Group show, mural installation)
Wintec X Block
Kei Konei Tonu Mātou
(Solo show, mural installation)
Wintec X Block Gallery
2019:
Wintec School of Media Arts Student Showcase
(Group show)
Wintec X Block
2017
The Anti Paper Tigers
(Group show)
RAMP Gallery