Inspiration

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Cora-Allan Wickliffe

Of Ngāpuhi, Tainui/Alofi, Liku descent, CoraAllan Wickliffe is expert in the Niuean practice of hiapo (bark cloth painting). Introduced to the tradition by her Niuean grandparents, Wickliffe has devoted herself to understanding this previously dormant art form. The creamy white bark cloth is made from the beaten inner bark of the ata, or paper mulberry tree, and inks made from soot, candlenuts and mangrove sap are applied to the cloth with pandanus seeds. Here, a unique and complex vocabulary of delicate forms describes the flora and fauna of Niue, together with its landscape, people, and community. Wickliffe has restored hiapo as a vital visual language, creating traditional pieces for ceremonial use alongside artworks for exhibition. She is a keeper of cultural memory, bearing a sacred responsibility to generations of past practitioners, and to those yet to come.