That cheeky picture of the Wano twins
Virginia Winder tells the stories behind some of the images up for auction to raise money for Hospice Taranaki. This week: Mark Dwyer’s photograph of Wharehoka and Te Kauhoe Wano.
When photographer Mark Dwyer became frustrated trying to get a decent photo of Wharehoka and Te Kauhoe Wano’s tā moko, the twins had a cheeky solution.
Wharehoka Wano says that photo shoot at Back Beach, New Plymouth, in 2006, was special.
‘‘We went down with Mark, started off in our board shorts and then our undies and then we went out like that,’’ he says, of their bare-it-all photo.
The intricate tā moko was created in 1995 by Rangi Kipa, taking 30 hours over six months – for each brother (Taranaki, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Awa).
At the time of the photo shoot, the twins had a reality TV surfing show, Dwyer says.
But his relationship with the Wano whānau began with the twins’ Mum, Makere Wano.
While working for the Taranaki Daily News,
Dwyer went on a health-related assignment where he met the Wano matriarch, a pioneer in working with marae-based smoking cessation programmes.
‘‘At the end of the interview she said she was getting her moko kauae done in a month,’’ he says. ‘‘I gave her a call to see if I could come and photograph it and she said yes, and that was my introduction to the Wano family.’’
Dwyer says that photo series was not for the newspaper, but for his personal portfolio.
‘‘I got to know TK and Whare better through surfing. I approached them and asked them if I could photograph them together, tying in the surfing element as well. Yep, they were keen as.’’
It was a grey-sky morning one summer weekend when they met up at Back Beach.
‘‘For half an hour I photographed them with their board shorts on, trying different poses to show off their tā moko, their surfboards and the ocean, but it just wasn’t working. They saw I was getting frustrated and one of them said ‘ why don’t we just take them off?’’’
They did and Dwyer was finally happy. ‘‘Straight away when they were walking into the water, I knew I had the shot.’’
Dwyer says he was so focused on the job he had no idea if beachgoers were watching. But the brothers were enjoying themselves.
‘‘They were giggling and making fun of each other.’’
The Surf Brothers photo, taken on blackand-white film, was part of an exhibition at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Eleven works were of Makere Wano and one was of the twins.
After spending 13 years at the newspaper, Dwyer became a freelance photographer and videographer, a job he continues today – because of the people.
‘‘It always has been for me – you learn about what they do and who they are.’’
Te Kauhoe Wano died in 2011. So, for his brother, that picture is extra special.
‘‘It’s poignant for my bro and it’s the only photo I’ve got hanging in my study; it talks to our love of the ocean, our connection as twin brothers and the cheeky fun we were always having with each other.’’
The photo will be among more than 120 photojournalism images up for auction at the Plymouth International hotel on September 24 to raise money for Hospice Taranaki. The idea for the fundraiser came from veteran photojournalist Rob Tucker, who has terminal cancer and is under hospice care.
Tickets are now on sale and available from the Plymouth International or online at photojournalismnz.co.nz.