He Kōrero Harakeke

Harakeke

Harakeke reminds me of my mother’s hands; each line, embedded with stories. She is the resilient nurturer who stands in all weather. I remember a bitter winter below my mountain Taranaki, I laid my harakeke to rest on the ground and when spring arrived, new life had emerged where I had left it! Me tōngai harakeke my tūpuna (ancestors) said. They knew that this was the healer of all healers. Heal the earth and you heal the people. Plant harakeke, the plant that gives to all. It will reach deep into the earth bringing all it’s goodness to the surface. 

Harakeke has the gift of holding water. A single drop will sit silently on a leaf until it rolls down to meet the earth. Or hang effortlessly from a seed pod, like a mirror to the world. Wai, water, brings us into the presence of nature, a reminder of what is right in front of us. As a paper, it is water that knits the fibres of harakeke back together again, the glue that weaves and for these works that have been created with our native trees, harakeke is the whāriki, the foundation that everything else sits upon. 

As a dye, harakeke is the most giving of all the plants. All parts give colour; roots, seeds, seedpods, leaves, flowers. And in between growth stages a colour can be found; before a flower opens and after, when a pod is green or black and in between. I’ve created seven different colours just from this plant and I’m sure there are more. It is exceptional.