The Return of Manuruhi, 2015
Macrocarpa wood
According to Māori legend, Tangaroa – god of the sea in both Māori and Cook Island mythology – abducted Manuruhi, son of Ruatepupuke who had offended him, and transformed him into a wood carving to adorn his house beneaththe sea. Manuruhi’s body (Tekoteko) was eventually rescued by his father Ruatepupuke who burnt the house down and returned his son back to his own world. Symbolically this story is about the loss of one twin son and the gain of the other in the artist’s life.