South Island tribute to Bay wahine
Powerful, evocative mural on Christchurch street sends strong message about young beauty’s journey
On the back streets of Christchurch’s city centre, nestled between cookiecutter buildings and a busy carpark, the eyes of a strong and beautiful wahine can be seen for kilometres.
Her moko kauae vivid. Her message powerful.
Yet for the woman at the centre; Hawke’s Bay born Miss Universe New Zealand 2017, Harlem-Cruz Ihaia, it is more than a piece of art. It is acknowledging a part of who she is.
Unbeknown to Auckland-based artist, Erika Pearce, Harlem-Cruz has whakapapa on her dad’s side from Nga¯i Tahu.
“It was a really good journey from Erika putting a mural of myself in a city where I’m from but not really knowing my roots properly.”
During the process, she was able to learn about her history and was invited on to her marae.
“A once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The mural spans 35 metres and took four days and three pairs of hands to complete at the end of last year as part of street prints Otautahi (Christchurch).
They only stopped when the sun went down and the lifts ran out of battery power.
“It’s so beautiful, it was hard to accept it was me,” Ihaia said.
“It’s been something I’ve had to accept on this journey with Miss Universe New Zealand— loving my- self again — and to see the mural, it reinforced my self worth.
“I have gained a lot of selfconfidence and I think in being in the beauty world, I’ve learnt what beauty actually is — it’s not just what you look like.
“To [Erika] it’s probably just a painting or a mural but to me it’s a tohu. It gives me a feeling of success and of honour and I think of all of my ancestors that have gone through the struggle of being Maori and I am now proof of it.”
Pearce was inspired by the “beau-
I’ve learnt what beauty actually is — it’s not just what you look like. Harlem-Cruz Ihaia
tiful and empowering” and wanted to portray a strong female presence.
“The piece is about our responsibility as guardians of the natural world. We need to learn from the loss of the beautiful Huia and not make the same mistakes in the future. Harlem-Cruz wears a pare Kawakawa to show she is in mourning for the Huia.”
“I was really inspired by Harlem with the pageant and also how she got a little bit of flak overseas for displaying her Ta¯ moko. She said ‘no this is me, this is my culture’ and I think that is really beautiful to see and that should be celebrated.”
The 20-year-old will hand over her crown next week.
“It’s been a big challenge for myself as I have had to step out of my comfort zone and take risks and challenges that I would never thought of doing.
“Through this journey I’ve grown the most through the struggle and the challenges that I’ve put my self through and from that I’ve become a confidently, beautiful Maori Wahine.”
The mural is located at 26 Allan St in Christchurch.