Sandscapes of Matariki: Papa-i-te-rangi (Earth Meeting Sky)

Karla Mohi (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) considers herself a painter, her chosen medium - onepū or sand. Karla says, "I found a way of displaying our natural resources and preserving them into a work of art. In using natural materials as my chosen medium, I want to encourage artists and viewers to re-consider their relationship with the environment. Our taiao holds the mauri of our connection to our tipuna and atua. Connecting people to their tūrangawaewae by using natural materials from their whenua. This brings a sense of grounding and knowledge in knowing who we are and where our ancestors once walked."

In 2024, Karla was part of a group exhibition of Tūwharetoa artists exploring 'Puanga' and the relationship of this whetū (star) with the Poananga flower which grows locally. This exhibition inspired Karla to further investigate the relationship of our taiao ā-whenua, to the taiao in the skies, finding similarities between the shimmer of the sands to the shimmering in the night skies.

Karla Mohi (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) graduated with a Diploma in Visual Communication at Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua.