Mana Wahine - Cameo

In te ao Maori, manu (birds) are seen as kaitiaki — guardians and messengers between worlds. They symbolise strength, endurance, and spiritual power, while also carrying a feminine, almost angelic presence. Feathers, in particular, were highly prized by wahine Maori as symbols of status, beauty, and connection to the divine.

In contrast, European women held deep regard for the cameo — a carved pendant often associated with royalty and refinement, its profile likenesses linked to kings, queens, and ideals of feminine virtue.

Mana Wahine – Cameo blends these two cultural symbols — the Maori reverence for feathers and birds, and the European tradition of the cameo — into a single visual expression. Mana Wahine appears within her stylised pendant, encircled by flying birds, suggesting movement, liberation, and watchful presence.

This work explores colonisation on a deeper, more intimate level. It speaks to the shaping of beauty standards and identity — especially the influence of Western ideals on wahine Maori. Two taonga (treasures), drawn from different worlds, yet echoing similar values: dignity, femininity, and ancestral strength.