This illustration was a project I did for the Volvo Ocean Race, in particular an art competition which ran in each country stop over on the journey around the world called Making Waves.

 

It involved submitting a previous work that I had done, which in this case was my illustration 'Rescue'. From there it was subjected to votes on social media to determine the winner. The winner then was required to produce an original artwork around the themes of the Volvo Ocean Race.

 

I was privileged to have won this competition for the Auckland stop over during Feb-March 2015 and produced this illustration titled 'Tangaroa', which needed to include the themes of Friendship, Leadership, Connection to Family and Friends, New Zealand culture as well as relating to Auckland and New Zealand.

 

The figure in the centre represents the Maori god Tangaroa who is the god/guardian of the sea. The shapes around him embody the nature of the sea, it's movement, it's force and it's wildness.

 

I wanted to portray a sense of guardianship and care in relation to the race and the sea and show that Tangaroa is always present and overlooking those who interact with him. In maori culture our art forms show pattern and repetition which is what I've tried to encompass here.

 

The text in the centre is a whakatauki or maori proverb which I felt best describes the relationships between the crews and their whanau or family . Whakatauki are of major significance in Maori culture and that's why I felt it was right to include it. I decided that I would make the Auckland City skyline clear, obvious but subtle and to show it’s the City of Sails. The pattern in the sky represents the journey forward.

 

This was an amazing opportunity to have been a part of as well as being amongst some great talent from all over the world.