Waewae
Exhibition
Exhibition
Stefan Wirihana Mau is an artist of Māori (Ngāpuhi) and Eastern European descent. Born inFrankston, Mau lives and works on BoonWurrung and Wurundjeri Country. His practice spansacross painting, printmaking and sculpture, exploring cultural concepts as he seeks to connectwith his Māori heritage. Growing up away from his ancestral lands in Aotearoa (NZ) and havinglimited access to cultural practice, Mau’s work draws from his growing understanding ofmātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) which he has begun weaving into his art practice as helearns. Mau’s work has recently been exhibited at NGV as part of Melbourne Now (2023), hehas also been shortlisted for the Doug Moran Portrait Prize (2022) and the Experimental PrintPrize (2021) at Castlemaine art Museum.design.
The word waewae, in te reo Māori has multiple meanings but most commonly relates to themovement of legs and feet. The artist came to find significance in waewae through learning maurakau (Māori weaponry practice) and kapa haka (Māori performance) as finding your feet andestablishing a core foundational position from which to progress.
Photography by;
Annika Kafcaloudis