Whakatāne Community Board Gallery
Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi — Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre

Painting, Drawing, and Works in Progress by Te Haunui Tuna

Every now and then, we meet remarkably creative people who share ideas and big plans with us. Te Haunui Tuna is one of those people. He comes from Waimana, Ngai Tūhoe, and attended Whakatāne High School before completing a Bachelor of Media Arts at Wintec in Hamilton. When Haunui arrived in our Museum offices late last year to show us his latest drawing project—the mythological personifications of his ancestry—we were captivated. The Museum Team immediately began talking about projects and creative opportunities. This exhibition is just the start.

Te Haunui Tuna has been drawing ‘muscled, warrior-looking men’ his whole life. He found early inspiration in his father's school-boy drawings and the sculpted weapon-wielding characters of fantasy artists Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta. More recently, he began this collection of work based on Atua, the Māori gods. Prompted by his partner Sonny in 2015, Te Haunui delivered a new sketch of a different Māori god every week and began sharing the drawings with a growing audience on social media. The idea and project gained followers.

With Atua: Spirits and Gods of Aotearoa, visitors to the gallery get an honest look into the illustrative workings and incredible craftsmanship of an emerging local artist. His depictions also offer a new way to visualise and learn about part of our shared cultural identity. "People would get in touch with me and tell their Atua stories," says Te Haunui, "and I would sketch what I thought the gods would look like. Often, I learnt new stories that added their own visual layers and ideas." 

As an artist, Te Haunui Tuna is concerned with the future of the stories behind his Atua.

"I know a lot of nannies and koro grew up in an era where stories were passed down verbally, and that was important. Now, not a lot of people ask to hear them. I want future generations to share the same stories and value them as we have."

In his own right, he is a kind of artistic superhero—bringing a courageous and fearless approach to his work and the kaupapa that guides everything he does. In Te Haunui's work, we see an artist who has transformed his ideas and stories onto paper, canvas, mural walls, tattoo art, and even digital technology, movies, and gaming. 

"I want to use art to inspire Māori people to be more than their environment shapes them to be," he says. "I believe showcasing my work in all these ways helps remind people of their rich history and culture. Mahue marae au I taku kāinga, whakamanawa mai aku atua Māori.” 

From the 52 drawings that have appeared on social media, Te Haunui has selected these drawings and Atua stories to be re-told for the Museum. This project is just the beginning of his story.