How do you weave ancient traditions with cutting-edge design? Matua Jacob Scott (Scott Architects) is showing us the way, and I’m here to pay my respects.
My mate Manawa and I were invited to matua Jacob Scott and matua Jason's opening art exhibition He Pānui at Hastings City Art Gallery on Saturday.
He Pānui is an exhibition that explores knowledge, past practices, and new ways of doing things, to solve problems and find answers activating the creative spirit.
This exhibition presents Scott and Kendrick’s recent work where whakairo meets new technologies and reused materials. It explores traditions of innovation – the stories to tell, people to be acknowledged and places and practices to consider, as we evolve our culture through the contributions we make to building sustainable futures.
And in today's vlog I'm paying my respects to matua Jacob Scott because his contributions to Aotearoa's art, design and architecture landscape is significant.
If you don't know matua he is a renowned Māori designer, artist, and architect from Hawke’s Bay, celebrated for integrating Māori cultural narratives and design principles into Aotearoa's architectural and artistic landscape.
As a tohunga in whakairo (Māori carving) and an advocate for bicultural design, his work blends traditional Māori storytelling with contemporary aesthetics, fostering a deeper connection between spaces and te ao Māori (the Māori worldview).
Scott has been a key contributor to projects that elevate mana whenua (the authority of Indigenous people over their land) and Māori cultural identity, including marae renovations, public art installations, and collaborations on architectural projects that honour iwi traditions. His legacy lies in paving the way for Indigenous design practices to flourish in New Zealand’s built environment, ensuring Māori values and stories remain at the heart of modern design.
And Critical. is honoured to be collaborating this rangatira (Chief) as what Te Ara Hihiko have managed to do with Cleanstone have enchanced the mana of our materials, elevating our 100% recycled plastic panels by imbuing it mauri (life force) through their work.
#MāoriDesign #Whakairo #IndigenousArt #CulturalInnovation #SustainableDesign #CircularEconomy #RecycledMaterials #AotearoaArt #CreativeSpaces #TeAoMāori #ArchitecturalDesign #DesignForChange #EcoFriendlyInnovation #CriticalDesign #Cleanstone