Te Uhi Tā Moko Artists to attend the 4th International Tattoo Convention in London

Wednesday, 17 September 2008

Richard Francis of Te Arawa and Patrick Takoko from Ngati Porou have been selected to attend this convention.

Up to 200 world class tattooists were selected from a pool of 1000 applicants worldwide. Most artists are from the USA and Europe.

Derek Lardelli commented, "Their aim is to investigate new techniques, innovations and trends that are pertinent to our art form and present those findings back to a wider collective of the Tā Moko community for our benefit."

There has also been high interest in the demand for Tā moko across Europe. This has presented an opportunity for Richard and Patrick to demonstrate their talents and work with the London community, and in particular the Ngāti Rānana network of New Zealand.

Patrick said, "Its awesome to make that connection with so many kiwis living in London and I guess they are wanting something that identifies them back to their homeland...Aotearoa. Tā moko is one way of linking them back."

According to Richard, "I'll be revelling in the fact that we will be mixing with the best tattoo artists of the world...and yet we have moko that is distinctive from all other tattoos."

Toi Māori Aotearoa is the national organisation for Māori art and artists and receives major funding from Te Waka Toi, the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand.