Content created in partnership with Resene
For many New Zealanders, Matariki brings a deep-rooted tradition of celebrating new beginnings, while remembering and honouring those that went before us.
Importantly, it’s a time for whānau and community to come together, and this year Resene is embracing that community and charitable spirit by working with well-known Auckland-based artist, Chevron Hassett (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Irish) – who brought the spirit of Matariki to life through a stunning piece of artwork – set to be auctioned for charity. Click here to place your bid.
A proud Kiwi brand for almost 80 years, the paint company is already known for its support of local charities and artistic endeavours. A $5000 grant to Hassett, together with his choice of paint, allowed the 29-year-old artist the opportunity to bring his vision of Matariki to canvas in a piece titled: Hiwa.
Impressed by how the local art community has embraced the use of their paints over the years, Resene marketing manager Karen Warman says the “Māori arts community have been especially prolific, painting a whole myriad of projects - large and small”.
It seemed fitting, then “to celebrate the new beginnings we associate with Matariki with the creation of new artwork by such a talented Māori artist as Chevron Hassett - that will help raise funds for charities to support new beginnings in art and new beginnings in a forest.”
Well-known for his sculpture, community-driven murals, lens-based media and public installations, creating Hiwa on canvas was a step outside Hassett’s comfort zone. Although to him Matariki also brings about the chance to set new goals and challenges, so this one seemed appropriate.
Hassett’s a Lower Hutt native, and has strong memories of growing up “skating at the Resene building” in Naenae, where it’s been based since the early 1990s.
Given that Matariki - for Hassett - is largely about connection to the past, and drawing on memories, that particular connection to this piece is, “quite special”.
When creating Hiwa, inspiration came from memories - of whānau, moments and people - and the colours chosen “referenced some things from the past, and going into the new”.
The piece is named after his chosen Matariki star, which he says Māori would, “look to when they would traditionally try to plan for the future … it’s about targeting and setting goals”.
There’s also a personal connection. It’s the name of his niece, “so it seemed like the right idea to work with”.
Then there was that personal Lower Hutt connection, which Hassett drew on with a unique take on the artwork's palette. The colours used for Hiwa, primarily Resene Spindle and Resene Beeswax, are based on the “original colour palettes [Resene] came out with back in the 1940s”.
They may simply “look like blue and yellow” says Hassett, but they were specifically chosen, based around the 1940s “classic post-war state homes” in the suburbs Hassett grew up in.
“I like the history of Resene and the connection they have to my area,” he says, referring back to his childhood Lower Hutt days. Before making his first brushstroke, he spent time searching through archives to find the right “old-school colours”. Which he hopes he got right. Resene Black rounded out his chosen palette.
“It’d be nice to know what colours they used on the old state housing at the time. Hopefully they can let me know,” he says, laughing.
Hassett’s Matariki piece is up for auction on TradeMe with proceeds split between two charities. Ngā Rangatahi Toa is a New Zealand not-for-profit that uses wellbeing and creative programmes to reconnect students with their potential and engage them with higher education and employment opportunities, and the Waipoua Forest Trust is an environmental organisation focused on protecting and restoring one of Aotearoa’s largest Kauri ecosystems, the Waipoua Forest, by regenerating previously cleared land and controlling pest species.
That charitable focus on the project, says Warman, “feels like such a positive way to celebrate this special time of year and to provide a gift to the future”.
Without the support of Kiwis, Resene wouldn’t be here today, she says. “We give back to the local communities we are in by regularly helping with community and environmental projects, which helps them help others, too.”
As for the piece going up for auction? It centres around two spirals, which house notches, made to shape like a target.
The spirals, to Hassett - much like Matariki itself - symbolise new beginnings. The coming out of the old and into the new. It’s those ideas of change, new challenges and goals that Hassett considered with “every brushstroke”.
Which, in a way, is like the project itself, which he was drawn to due to the “intriguing” nature of the brief. “It's a challenge, and it's exciting,” he says.
“It is nice to see projects like this happening … And I think it's nice to see different people engaging or valuing [Matariki]. Hopefully, if people see the work - if they’re not too familiar with [the meanings] behind Matariki, they can look at more.”
