Background
Of Te Atiawa descent, Puketapu-Hetet was born in Lower Hutt on 28 January 1941. She grew up close to the marae in Waiwhetū near Wellington and moved to Te Kuiti after marrying Rangi Hetet, the master carver who had worked on the marae.
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Erenora Puketapu-Hetet
Edit ProfileCareer
She was a key figure in the Māori cultural renaissance and helped lift Māori weaving from a craft to an art They returned to Waiwhetū and she worked at Te Papa as Maori Protocol Officer/Advisor. Participant of her work at Te Papa involved bridge-building between the Māori world and the European cultural institutions, leading to her featuring in a number of weaving-related works.
In common with other Māori artists, she believed that art had a spiritual dimension and hidden meanings:
The ancient Polynesian belief is that the artist is a vehicle through whom the gods can create.
Art is sacred and interrelated with the concepts of mauri, mana and tapu. Maori weaving is full of symbolism and hidden meanings. embodied with the spiritual values and beliefs of the Maori people.
She wove using materials such as muka (prepared fibre of New Zealand flax), paua shell, stainless steel wire and feathers, including kiwi feathers. She was appointed to the board of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in 2004.
Puketapu-Hetet died at Lower Hutt on 23 July 2006.
Achievements
Membership
She was a member of the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council of New Zealand.
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Born
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Died
July 22, 2006 (aged 65) -
Nationality
New Zealand