Recent mahi moko in Aotearoa and Australia

New original paintings now available: my meditation, my color therapy, my happy place

It has long been one of my goals to get back into painting and I am thrilled to have begun this journey of reconnecting with PAINT and COLOUR over the past four or so years.

Before I was a moko artist, I was a painter!

I loved my time at Toihoukura Māori Art School in Gisborne during 2008 where I learned a lot about painting and Māori design.

I also use and apply a lot of what I learned from my moko mentor, whom I studied with for three years (2009 - 2011), in my painting practice.

I now have several original paintings available for purchase in a range of different sizes and prices.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS BOUGHT ONE OF MY ORIGINAL PAINTINGS SO FAR, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TAUTOKO AND SUPPORT!

Arohanui xx
Taryn

National Geographic commissioned me to write a short travel piece for visitors to my hometown, Wellington

I was thrilled to have recently received an email from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (!) asking me to write a short travel piece for them, from my perspective, for visitors to my hometown of Wellington City!

Writing is something that I love, along with art, tattooing, music, dancing, culture, travel and personal development!

You can read the article that I wrote: HERE!

My recent trip to Mo'orea, French Polynesia, to attend the Traditional Tatau Festival 2018

I recently traveled to Tahiti and Mo’orea with a group of 30 other Māori artists and cultural practitioners from Aotearoa, New Zealand. I was thrilled to be invited and to work alongside so many amazing artists. We had an amazing time and the local manaakitanga was beautiful, I was so grateful to meet and connect with so many locals.

I love the local people and whenua and am looking to returning to French Polynesia in future.

I was super inspired by the Tahitian style of tattooing that I saw there, and I was so impressed by so many of the local artists who do brilliant work.

My work will be exhibited at MAHARA GALLERY in the upcoming exhibition 'BEING FEMALE HERE NOW'

I am looking forward to exhibiting some of my work alongside 7 other awesome wahine artists in the upcoming exhibition ‘BEING FEMALE HERE NOW’ opening soon in Waikanae, Kāpiti Coast, Aotearoa, New Zealand.

If you are in the area, go and check it out! Mauriora!

My recent trip to Melbourne was dope!

I recently just spent a couple weeks in Fitzroy, Melbourne, alongside my colleague and senior artist, Julie Paama-Pengally.

Out of all the cities in Australia, Melbourne is def my favourite one to visit!

Some of my fav things about Melbourne include the diverse and colourful queer culture, getting to know the local Aboriginal artists, musos and dancers better, the street art and graffiti culture, the Caribbean and African communities and their art, food, music and culture that is present there, the thriving dancehall culture, dance and music scene, the vintage fashion stores and the cuisine!

Returning to Tahiti this 12-19 September for the 'Tatau i Mo'orea Festival' wahoooo!

I visited Tahiti for the first time in February 2016.

I will be in French Polynesia again this 12-19 September 2018, to participate in the cultural tatau festival happening on Mo'orea. I will be traveling with a group of approximately 30 different multi talented artists and cultural practitioners from Aotearoa and i'm really looking forward to it!

I'm also looking forward to getting tattooed myself at this festival!

For all Mo'orea bookings please complete the booking form: HERE.

'Puanga Kai Rau' a group exhibition opening at The Māoriland Hub in Ōtaki on 10th July

I am excited to be a part of a collaborative group Māori art exhibition opening at The Māoriland Hub on Tuesday 10th July at 5.30PM in Ōtaki.

CLICK HERE to learn more about this exhibition and its calendar of special events.

Group exhibition opening 'Mahinga kai, our gardens, cultivations and food gathering' at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae, this 15th June 2018

I am excited to be exhibiting some new original works at Mahara Gallery next month with a group of artists in the exhibition 'Mahinga kai, our gardens, cultivations and food gathering'.  

Hope to see some of you there. The exhibition opens on FRIDAY 15TH JUNE 2018 at 5PM. Nau mai haere mai!

Waikanae is significant to me because my grandmother was from there and her marae Whakarongotai, is located there.

No matter how far and wide I travel, home is still always where my heart is and spending time at home is hugely important to me and my little family, always has been and always will be, regardless of how hectic my travel schedule can sometimes get.

Tattooing at A.R.T Matariki Art Market this June 17th at Ngā Purapura in Ōtaki

I am thrilled to have been invited to share my art at the upcoming Ātiawa.Raukawa.Toa Matariki Art Market that is happening at the beautiful Ngā Purapura complex in Ōtaki.

I will also have some paintings, prints, hats, clothing and art merchandise there for sale too. 

See you there!

Mauriora,
Taryn

Once I danced with a shaman, a new poem written in Bali

Once I danced with a shaman
She had bangles from wrist to elbow
And she jingled
And she jangled
Her dark eyes were black pools
Of secret knowledge
Other worlds
And deep magick
She pulled me in with the rhythm
Of her body and her magick bracelets
We twirled and swayed
We laughed and laughed
High on something else
On what I am not sure
But I liked it
Our souls understood each other in that moment
Languages different from the tounge
But on that dance floor
We riffed and debated
Conversated
And demonstrated
What it was to connect on another level
Ancient beats
Simple
Uncomplicated
Listen and feel
Move
Feel the joy
And surrender
Thank you to that woman
For liberating me in that moment
She guided me into surrender
And I experienced other worlds
In her twirling twirl
Her toothless smile
Wide all encompassing heart
Black eyes
And abandoned laughter
I did not know her name
Or her village
But I will never forget her
Could have been 111 years old
Or maybe 11
Doesn’t matter
She changed something in me
That night on the dance floor
I remembered something I had long forgotten
And I’m grateful
A relief
A soothing balm
May her and her ancient ways never come to harm
Straight out the jungle for a moment in time
And now she returns
And now we all return
But we remember

The 'Māori Modern' exhibition opening recently in Perth, Western Australia

On Saturday 6th January the 'Māori Modern' exhibition opened in Perth, featuring the work of ten different Māori artists including myself. All of the tickets for this exhibition opening sold out and I was happy to perform some of my spoken word poetry at the opening event too.

The exhibition is showing until 10th February 2018 and viewing is by appointment, please contact The Sound Temple venue directly if you wish to arrange a time to view this exhibition.

Many of the works shown in these photos are also available to purchase online here.

'What's happened here in Australia?' another new poem that I recently performed at the exhibition of 'Māori Modern' in Perth

Land stolen
Generations
Nation after nation
Coming to Australia
Everyone's getting paid yeah?
Except the aborigine
Like the Māori
Modern
From New Zea-land
Cash in hand
Original man left thinking
What about my land?
Stolen
Into a system
Stolen
In sin
Stolen
It was so grim
Stolen
Generations
What's happened here in Australia?
Gold, pink diamonds, aluminum, iron ore
More, more, more
Gimme more
But we want more!
Killed with legislative law
Legal atrocities
Remember please
Over 150 years
Bringing the murder, abuse and the beers
So many real fears
When your children and grandchildren, sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers
Are classified as just some flora and fauna
And we all know what they do to the trees here
Deforestation
Degradation
Original ancient people
I mourn with ya
The modern Māori remembers
In the land of milk and honey
It was not funny
When aborigines
Were legal to kill
And now even still
We remember
Who we are
We remember who you are

'Rise sister rise' a new poem

Here's one of my new poems that I performed at the exhibition opening for 'Māori Modern' in Perth recently.

Rise sister rise
And rise again
Put down the pain
And rise sister rise
Heal the wound
Look to the moon
The sun
The earth
And the stars
All of which you are made of
Your body
Made up of the love of thousands
A reflection of your ancestors
So rise sister rise
To spite everything
And because of it
Rise sister rise
Now is the time
E Hine, Rise
E Hine, Rise
E Hine, Rise

The second 'Wāhine Power Circle' special event in Perth, Western Australia

Last Sunday I ran the second 'Wāhine Power Circle' event at The Sound Temple in Perth, Western Australia, with invited co-facilitators Sofia Tuala and Jerome Kavanagh.

It was a fabulous day and some great connections were made.

There were tears, breakthroughs, laughter, letting go of the old, singing, calling in the new, sisterhood, empowerment, snacks, herbal teas, sound healing, guided affirmations and so much more!

THANK YOU TO ALL THE AMAZING WOMEN WHO ATTENDED!

Reflecting on the opening of my solo exhibition 'Purapura Whetū' in Perth, Western Australia

'Call on them and they shall appear'.

I have books coming out soon!

Live taonga pūoro at the opening night created a wonderful ambience.

Big thanks to everyone that came along to the opening night at The Sound Temple!

'Hiwa i te rangi, your hearts desire'.

'Our ancestors watch over us'.

It was a great feeling finally have my first solo show after all these years of being a working artist!

Big thanks to The Sound Temple for hosting the exhibition.

'The people of the rainbow gather'. SOLD.

'Celestial Connections' SOLD and 'Star Seeds' on the right.

I love doing large scale paintings! The more I do, the more I want to do!

Spoken word poetry performance at the opening night, with taonga pūoro accompaniment by Jerome Kavanagh.

'The many radiant descendants'.

Giving an artist talk on all the paintings and the concept for the exhibition. 

Leading 'The Wāhine Power Circle' in Perth, Western Australia was so much fun!

On 13th July 2017 I facilitated my first 'Wāhine Power Circle' four hour event in Perth, Western Australia at The Sound Temple. Around fifteen wāhine of all ages, from all walks of life and from different cultural backgrounds, came together for the afternoon to share, learn, heal, transform and participate.

Designing, creating and facilitating my own events is something that brings me a lot of joy, and I have a lot of fun with it! It was so easy and natural for me to lead and share in this way, and I felt right in my element making this event happen with these women.

We gathered around the fire, performed our own 'letting go and releasing' ceremony before we went ahead and then called in what we wanted to manifest in our lives, and set some new intentions for the future. We entered The Sound Temple and received a taonga pūoro healing sound bath from taonga pūoro practitioner, Jerome Kavanagh.

We shared a delicious organic afternoon tea together, surrounded by nature.

We adorned ourselves.

We shared kōrero, exchanged stories, songs, haka and karakia (prayers). 

We learned about the lessons that the Atua (goddesses) and Tūpuna (ancestors) Māori, Papatūānuku, Hineahuone, Hinetitama, Hinenuitepo, Hineraukatauri and Niwareka, have to teach us in this modern world that we live in.

Every women in attendance also received a free art print.

'The Wāhine Power Circle' was held inside the 'Purapura Whetū' exhibition which is showing at The Sound Temple until 13th October 2017.

This event was very popular and there will be more 'Wāhine Power Circle' events coming up in future at different locations around the world! I will most likely have new packs of my popular oracle affirmation cards included in the ticket price of future events.

Join my mailing list if you would like to keep up to date on when this event may be coming to your town! Details of all upcoming events will always be posted on my events page too.

Thank you so much to all of the beautiful strong women that attended this event!

FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF THE PARTICIPATING WĀHINE AT THIS EVENT:

'Loved every moment! Thank you Taryn.'
- Shelley Stewart

'What a blessed time! Much thanks for sharing your hearts work Taryn.'
- Chrissy Whitehead

'It was a truly magical day.'
- Rae Brown

'Thank you Taryn for such a special day. I loved every minute.'
- Rebecca Joyce

'AWESOME day. I highly recommend the work of Taryn Beri. Powerful and really insightful.'
- Helen McKenzie

'Thank you Taryn for holding the circle today...and for your fearlessness. So inspiring. Beautiful blessings and gratitude.'
- Kim Echammaal

'Incredible, incredible, incredible! Thanks for coming out of the hedge and joining us centre stage in your life, we embrace you, we see you, we love you, divine feminine energy following your true hearts desire with pure intention, thank you Taryn Beri.'
- Dawn Steel

'Manu Ariki' limited edition prints now sold out

This limited edition run of 50 limited edition A3 art prints have now sold out.

Thank you to everyone that purchased one!

My first solo exhibition 'Purapura Whetū' opens on 13th July in Perth, Australia

Having my own solo show has been on my mind for the past couple of years, so I am thrilled to finally be doing it next month in Perth, Australia! More details about the opening event on 13th July 2017 will be coming soon.

As the exhibition will be showing for a long time (three months) I am also planning on having at least one other special event in the exhibition space at a later date, after the opening. These special events will most likely include live spoken word poetry readings and taonga puoro sound experiences, among other awesome stuff I am yet to cook up!

Big gratitude goes out to Dawn and John at The Sound Temple! The venue is truly beautiful and unique and I am honoured to be hanging my work in the space for three months!

If you are in the Perth area I hope that you are able to get along and check it out with your friends and whānau!

New original paintings to be exhibited at Karanga Ink in Auckland this month

Painting in Bali, Indonesia.

Two of my new original paintings will be exhibited at Karanga Ink this month in the upcoming exhibition 'Whitu ngā whetū' in celebration of Puanga/Matariki season.

I am thrilled to be invited to exhibit alongside some amazing artist whom I admire greatly.

If you are in Auckland, go and check out the exhibition on 26th June - 2nd July 2017.