Tuhina Hamuera

Over the last decade, I have had the opportunity to work with a few different mediums. One being Pounamu (Jade) and the other being Hot Cast Bronze. I discovered the art of carving Pounamu when travelling around the South Island of New Zealand and instantly felt a sense of belonging that I felt had been missing all my life, so I naturally bought some carving gear and have been carving ever since. The greatest gift through this process has been when friends and family have been able to come around home and give it a go for themselves. To carve their own piece or make a gift for someone special. In 2018, I was visiting my family based here in Brisbane. My uncle, a bronze foundry owner had seen some of my carvings and suggested I should give sculpting clay a go. It’s safe to say that I was hooked! Keeping within my carving style, and wanting to still have that connection to home, I started sculpting traditional and contemporary Maori art in clay and then into bronze. Since then, you would usually have found me working in the foundry on all sorts of different projects. And am absolutely grateful to be able to continue to share this artistic journey even more people as my family and I have just taken over Chalkos Fine Arts Foundry as my uncle moves into retirement.