Kō Māui me tōna ika

1990

Manu Kopere

Accessible

1990–Current

  • Newtown Library, 13 Constable Street, Newtown, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

Type

  • Mural

Medium

  • Rope
  • Paint
  • Woven fibre (unspecified)
  • Customwood/MDF
  • Paua shell

Dimensions

  • H2560 × W5255 × D100mm

Manu Kopere, ‘Kō Māui me tōna ika’ (1990), Newtown Library, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

Image: Bronwyn Holloway-Smith, Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand, Mar 2026

Organisations
Associated Artwork Person(s)
    • Roger Shand (Commissioner, Architect)
Associated Artwork Organisation(s)

Description

Created by artist collective Manu Kopere, this mixed media mural was commissioned for the Newtown Library by Wellington City Council’s City Architect, Roger Shand, along with a set of kōwhaiwhai (painted rafters), and two carved totara pou.

Completed in three panels, it is a colourful depiction of Maui hauling up Te Ika-a-Māui, the North Island, and hangs on the wall behind the issuing desk.

The artist members of Manu Kopere who worked on this project were Wiremu Grace, Tippy Bevan, and Tana Salzmann. According to Grace, the library project was the collective’s biggest commission at the time.

See also: