You might not think that glasses and tā moko artistry are a natural collaboration, but both Mokonuiarangi (Moko) Smith (Tainui, Te Arawa, Takitimu, Horouta and Mataatua) and Specsavers prove that assumption wrong. The tā moko artist, who specialises in uhi (handtapping) and is dedicated to the revival of that craft, and the brand have partnered for a second year in a row to launch a new limited-edition collection to raise funds for the Fred Hollows Foundation.
This year’s designs – which draw inspiration from pounamu – actually came from a conversation Smith had while working on the designs for the 2023 collaboration. “I wanted to explore something in this pounamu colour scheme, but it required [Specsavers] to go to some international fairs to look for the right acetate to get the correct colour scheme,” he says.
Timelines meant they couldn’t achieve it within the year, which led to them going with last year’s Karu o te Whenua designs. However, conversations about the designs continued, and Specsavers eventually found a match that both parties were happy with, leading to 2024’s collaboration. $25 from the sale of each limited-edition frame goes to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ to help end avoidable blindness in the Pacific
The process of designing for a frame of glasses is obviously different from Smith’s practice of tā moko, which he practices using handtapping techniques as opposed to a machine. “The way I design in tattooing is that I draw directly onto the body,” he says. “The body being three dimensional and being unique with each other, it gives me certain parameters and certain feedback that I work with when I’m designing.”
He asked to be sent sets of frames that he could draw on physically, rather than designing it two dimensionally on paper. “The physical boundaries of a frame are very small! Usually the smallest thing I’m tattooing is a pinky finger,” he says. “It was quite a foreign thing for me to be designing something with that narrow of a space. But I really enjoy it.”
“I found that the ideas in my head came immediately as I held the frames, and I was able to put things in places without compressing things too much.”
From there came the theme. He knew he wanted to interrogate and showcase the migratory connections between the Pacific and Aotearoa. “The patterns and theme of my design inquiry were along those ideas of navigation, migration, journeying, and then making yourself tangata whenua in that place, really grounding yourself in that place.”
“We’re also dealing with eyes and eye health, and concurrently, craft and tradition. So I ran all these three themes at the same time while designing and choosing patterns that were linked to those themes.”
This specific design – the Taratara notching pattern near the temples – is an acknowledgment of both generations before and generations yet to come, which serendipitously and intentionally ties in with the revival work that Smith does for his practice. Not only does he personally work to revive tā moko with his own practice, he is a teacher to others, who will then pass on their knowledge to future generations.
“We’ve had a revival of tā moko with machines, which is quite commonly seen now, but the revival of the traditional tools, and a high level understanding of the craft involved is still fragile,” he explains.
In Aotearoa, there’s only a handful of people who know how to use the tools, and fewer still who are specialists. “For the survival of the artform and the holistic elements it brings to our people, that’s really important.”
Reviving the practice isn’t just about the craft or the artform, it’s about reaffirming both ancestral connections and the maintenance of cultural knowledge. “We’re lucky in Aotearoa that we’ve got so much of that knowledge. We’ve got a lot but we’ve also maintained a lot compared to other Indigenous people,” says Smith.
“We’re giving each other faith to keep going on the path we’re going.”
