I hope you and yours have had an amazing start. Here is hoping the 2022 is an improvement on it's predecessors.

While up in Auckland celebrating Christmas with my own whānau, I was busy bringing a concept to life. Tīkapa Moana was conceived in 2020 with the hope to paint it while I was still living in up there. As we all know the 20's are the decade where it appears few things go to plan, the project had to be pushed out. Logistics surrounding getting the whale tale blanks into the country were problematic and lockdowns continued to sabotage timelines.

From Wānaka I had intended to fly up to Auckland to work on it, however Covid hit again and those plans were dashed. We were then in discussions about trying to get it down South, while I was trying to find a space that I could work in. As the final time line drew nearer, it was looking less and less likely that it was able to happen. The job I had didn't work out, which was such a blessing as it meant I could dedicate some serious time to working on the project, while back up in Tāmaki Makaurau over Christmas.

A special thank you to my amazing sponsors Vector Lights for sponsoring my concept. If you follow the link above you can find the program for the special light displays on the Auckland Harbour Bridge in celebration of the Whale Tale event. Thank you too to the lovely team at the Pukekohe Resene colour shop who helped me sort out my paint supplies. And last but not least, thank you to Lucy and the amazing team at the WWF Whale Tale project for going above and beyond to make this extraordinary event come to fruition.

Image credit to Lucie Fowler, one of the WWF Whale Tale dream team :)
Tīkapa Moana in situ. I am so delighted with it's position and I can't wait to get back up to Auckland to see it installed as well as check out the other amazing works around the city. At number 12 on the trail you can easily find it on the Whale Tale interactive map app. Grab your whānau and grab some bikes and have a fun day seeing how many you can find!