Pupils develop school mural

A Dunedin school is bringing its Māori values and Catholic character together with a new mural of Māori Jesus.

Dunedin artist Aroha Novak (Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Kahungunu) teamed up with some young collaborators from St Joseph’s Cathedral School over the last few months to create a multicultural representation of what Jesus could look like.

"We wanted to bring lots of colour into it and not have a traditional iconography.

"We really wanted to have an accessible piece of artwork for everyone, so that's why he’s not one kind of brown or beige colour.

The rainbow halo for Jesus was the pupils' idea, she said.

They used Resene Lumbersider paint with a little bit of spray paint and paint pens for details.

Everything about the mural was designed and dictated by the pupils’ choices, Ms Novak said.

St Joseph’s Cathedral School year 6 pupils (from left) Ellena Masoe, 12, Leo Innes, 11, and Leno...
St Joseph’s Cathedral School year 6 pupils (from left) Ellena Masoe, 12, Leo Innes, 11, and Leno Gianone (on Leo’s shoulders), 10, stand in front of their school’s new Maori Jesus mural they helped create. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
She would take her computer to the school and they would work together to come up with a design on Photoshop.

They then used a grid technique to enlarge their design on to two large pieces of plywood.

"Friday is normally my studio day, so I just came in to school and hung out with the kids and we just painted it bit by bit for a couple of months."

In the mural, Jesus is depicted wearing a korowai, a Māori cloak, that has designs the schools pupils created embedded in it.

Year 6 pupil Leo Innes said everyone in his class added something that was important to them and their culture to the mural.

"I did a basketball because I love playing basketball and I play it almost every day outside at home and at school."

mark.john@odt.co.nz

 

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