Karioi te maunga
Whaingaroa te mana
Karewa te tangata
Te Atai-o-rongo te taniwha
Tainui Awhiro, ngunguru te ao, Ngunguru te po
Tihei mauri-ora

Karioi the mountain
Whaingaroa the ocean
Karewa the male element
Te Atai-o-rongo the guardian
Tainui people rumble like the sea, day & night
Breath of life

....far away to the east the sun came up and began to warm the land. First the densely forested slopes of Karioi, and then down into the harbour of Whaingaroa where the last traces of morning mist quickly burnt away.

New Zealand's best-known surf town woke slowly to another day, which was just like any other except that the most significant surf event ever to hit the shores of Aotearoa was set to get underway. Raglan was hosting the final leg of the 2003 Oxbow World Long-Board Circuit and many of the surfers still had a chance of clinching the world title.

The event provided locals with a rare chance to see just how talented the world's best long-boarders are. Manu Bay was transformed into a living gallery, with Joel Tudor, Bonga Perkins, Colin McPhillips, Beau Young and forty others gracefully gliding, walking, floating and vertically re-entering their way along the solid waves in modern and classic hybrid mastery.

As a town, Raglan, or Whaingaroa as it is known is Maori, is getting used to such attention. Foreign surfers have been making the pilgrimage to the fabled left for decades. Some of them have never left. These days the weekends are often hectic, with droves of surfers flocking in from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies just a couple of hours north. Property prices have rocketed up in the last few years as people have finally woken up to the treasures of the place.

Despite this ongoing change, which many locals view with dismay, Raglan just about manages to remain a sleepy seaside town nestled in the rolling hills around Raglan Harbour. Although famous for its waves, something else that stands out about Raglan is the sheer number of artists living in the town. Painters, sculptures, writers, musicians, carvers, photographers, potters, jewelry makers and glass blowers all etch out a living based here. The town's cafes and galleries are full of their work and dominate the small retail centre.

In one of these cafes - Aqua Velvet - the only artist's work displayed this year has been of Maori carver Aaron Kereopa. He carves surfboard blanks into traditional Maori designs. These carvings stand out not only for their size, but also for their intricate Polynesian designs and three-dimensional shapes, the texturing of the colours and the overall impact they emit.

Quietly spoken and thoughtful, Aaron's work is starting to become known. It's been a journey for the thirty-two year old artist who left the sanctity of Raglan for a new life on Australia's Gold Coast four years ago. While he says the main reason for a move was a broadening of the horizons, he also had a few anxieties when he first began carving his boards. That's because for Maori people, respecting protocol and tradition is important, and Aaron wasn't too sure how the elders would view his work. The obscurity of Australia allowed him to develop his unique form of carving, as well as showing him that it could become a profession. His pieces sold well and are now spread around the world. One photo he has of himself shows him proudly presenting a carving to Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew for the ASP head office in Coolangatta.

Aaron was back in town after being commissioned by Surfing New Zealand to carve the winners trophies for the 2003 Oxbow Raglan event. He was deeply honoured and spent most days at the event selling food from his family's tent. Younger brother Daniel, who has just been crowned New Zealand circuit champ for the third time, was on hand as Contest Director. It was obvious Aaron was happy here, back with his family, the Kereopa whanau at their spiritual home in Manu Bay. Aaron and his partner Jasmine were ready to move back home, his art now calling him back and the concern about the elder's thoughts unfounded.

Where did the idea for carving surfboard blanks come from?

About fifteen years ago a Maori fella started carving surfboards in Gisborne. One of his pieces that stood out for me was his No Nukes board, which he carved after French terrorists blew up Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior in Auckland.

I became inspired and began carving boards in 1989 at the age of nineteen. My younger brother Daniel and I had many broken boards lying around our bach (small holiday cottage) at Manu Bay. So I had a crack at carving traditional Maori moko designs.

Initially I made gifts through my art. It is a custom of Maori to give your all and not expect anything in return. This trait has been instilled in me by my mother and father ever since I remember and by their parents to them. My family will continue to send this aroha (love) in the face of a world full of squabbling developers and entrepreneurs.

When did you begin awakening creatively?

For five years I attended Wesley College, a boarding school in South Auckland. This school was my first taste of island culture, Maoris, Samoans, Tongans, Papua New Guineans, Fijians, Cook Islanders, Tokelans and Solomon Islanders. I learnt from each culture and many friends were made.

I joined a voluntary Maori carving class but eventually gave up after being hassled too much because it wasn't cool. The bad thing about it was that the people doing the hassling were usually Maori. Instead I became part of the college Polynesian performing group. In my last two years at Wesley, I became a warrior of Hoturoa Kerr Taheretikitiki's war canoe group in Ngaruawahia. In 1988 we went to Honolulu for a cultural exchange with the Hawaiians. We represented the Maori Queen Te Atairangikahu, and the stronghold tribe of Tainui. This was an invaluable experience and I captured their art in my head.

What is the process of creating one of your pieces?

In the early days I shed a lot of blood stripping glass from the boards to get to the foam blank, which I carve. I've stripped so many I can tell you what thickness of fibreglass was used to cover the board. I collect boards from waste recycling and the beach. Family and friends also collect them for me, and I now have a supplier of discard blanks.

From here I conjure up emotion that makes me think of different subjects and people. I can spend hours looking at something in nature like a frangipani flower. I'll dissect it with my imagination, and try to understand how non man-made things can produce something so perfect. Music helps me get into the frame of mind. Memories of story from our older people give me ideas to draw from. I also use memories of surfing adventures with my whanau (family), friends, whanui (extended family) and my family's international whangai (adopted family), whom we've met through Raglan's surfing lifestyle.

I've been known to stare at a stripped surfboard for two days. Once I have the design in my head I can draw it in a couple of hours, although even during the carving process I'm still designing. The carving can take from one hour to one month to complete. The painting is next and the process is the same. Between these processes I detail every part of each cut and cross-pollinate colours. The best compliment I can receive is if someone stands in awe and has the urge to touch and sweep their hands across one of these creations.

What I love about this job is that I am recycling 95% of every surfboard, even down to the fins in some cases. And I get to empty my imagination into a vessel of foam that I'm familiar with. At the same time I can keep my culture alive here in New Zealand, as well as seeing it journey overseas with international travellers.

How do you bring your Maori heritage into your carving?

Maori art design has been the major base of all my work. I feel comfortable experimenting with this style. It's easier for me to record things I want to say in my art rather than communicating it in language. I'm able to fit many topics of discussion into one piece and merge in others that compliment these subjects with underlying meanings.

Topics I have discussed in pieces span my ancestors ocean navigation themes, legends of my tribal region, my life around surfing, my upbringing, immediate family and everyday activities.

When I first began carving, I created faces of Maori warriors with a gaping mouth, which I like to think of as my screaming silent voice, and those of my other humble Polynesian friends. Quiet, but with a polite raging inferno of silent expression which is represented in my abstract Maori moko designs. I believe I can see much of this silent rage come out in crime in which Polynesians are disproportionately represented. Somehow Polynesians have to learn to use this creative energy in a more positive way.

My next stage was with cross-culture Maori, Samoan and Hawaiian. All three are distinctly different but when combined they seem to strangely fit together.

Currently I have been trying to carve water and surf, which can been seen in the 2003 Oxbow World Long-Board trophies. This is where I stand creatively today, making a mix of my surfing life experience and my Maori culture background.

Other topics I wish to pursue further are Maori legends, pre-European settlement of New Zealand, and the four elements of earth, fire, air and water. I also plan to travel the Pacific Rim with my partner Jasmine to find further inspiration. Ideally I hope to retrace my ancestor's migration and try to draw from energy that each culture has to offer in order to try and understand their and my own origins.

What was it like growing up and surfing in Raglan?

Ever since I can remember my entire family have been living from the ocean. The ocean was like our supermarket; kina, paua, pipi, pupu, kokota, fish and many other kinds of seafood. Our families would gather together and spend nights out eeling, whitebaiting and floundering by lantern light.

During these gatherings as a child many stories were passed down about creatures and spirits. We heard reasons for how certain landscapes were formed. The ocean was treated with respect because of all the special treasures it provided for our tribe. So when we first saw people surfing here in Raglan, yelling, hooting and basically having fun, our family thought it was a bit of an insult to Tangaroa, the God of the ocean.

It was not until Daniel and I had seen our cousins, the Maniapoto's and the Waitere's surfing that everything changed. That was it, Rangi our mother scratched up two boards for us and we were away. From sun up to sun down Daniel and I would walk to Ngarunui, Manu and Whale Bay and Indicators. These waves became our playground and still are today. We thrived on the energy of Tangaroa.

Daniel was so small then, I had to carry everything. Daniel was eight and I was sixteen. We'd get burnt, dehydrated, eyes filled with salt. I'd walk home with tears in my eyes for five kilometres hardly able to see the road. These times were amongst the most memorable of my life. Daniel and I had finally found a precious treasure we were destined to do for the rest of our lives. Surfing was definitely no insult to our ancestors and not tapu (taboo), but something we had lost and found again.

All your carvings tell a story. Can you explain the 2003 Oxbow World Longboard Trophies?

These trophies were a big privilege for me to do. Maori mythology has been passed down and this story is a lovers quarrel. Our mountain that we draw strength from around here is called Karioi. Her lover is Karewa. Because of his roaming eyes for Karioi's sister Pirongia in the south, Karioi expelled Karewa into the ocean. He can been seen in the distance and is known today as Gannet Island.

I made a version of Karewa for the overall Oxbow World Champion trophy. Designs upon his arms and legs are symbols of strength. He faces towards Raglan looking at Karioi in awe, his eyes still roaming. For the Raglan finals I made four trophies; first, second and two third equals. These trophies are designed in the form of a left-hand wave. I carved weaved waves that represent the affections Karewa still has for Karioi.

What about the future, you're coming home to Raglan?

Jasmine and I are always in search of new and inspirational travel destinations. We dream a lot about the people and cultures we want to meet and the waves we want to surf. We've been residing in Australia for four years now on the Gold Coast at Northern Burleigh Heads, Nobby Beach and Mermaid Beach. It's here that I discovered that Australians were keen to pay for my art. In Australia my work is well received, but our hearts beat from Raglan Whaingaroa, so in 2004 we'll be living back in the family bach in Manu Bay.

My family and culture are my rock and form the basis of everything I want to achieve through my path. Aroha.

by Paul Kennedy © 2007

Contact Aaron Kereopa at - huadesigns@yahoo.com.au