Esther Stone

Esther Stone (Ngati Porou)  is an artist in Tāmaki Makaurau and holds a Master of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe. Her practice explores the language and processes of traditional Māori weaving specialising in taniko. By collecting stories and knowledge from her hapu and whanau, her work is bonded to whenua and whakapapa, navigating the space that traditional practices occupy today's modern world.

Found discarded, the remnants of someone great, 

taonga that once adorned a wāhine toa as fierce and strong as Hine Nui Te Po

The warning sound of pokinikini rattling bones clanging against one another

The last moments are filled with a swaying shroud

Disappearing into the distance

Her maro reflecting the warmth of dawn

Warmth like the last embrace

She has risen, they have fallen

He kakano ahau

We are the seeds sown by the wāhine before us