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New Brighton 150 tukutuku panel

New Brighton's tukutuku panel
New Brighton's tukutuku panel
July 2009
Photo credit: New Brighton team

This panel was designed, created and constructed by the New Brighton Library Team, as part of the Tukutuku project in 2009 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Christchurch City Libraries, (special thanks to Juliet McAra for her huge artistic contributions).

Te Kōrero Karoro

  • driftwood, modelling clay, paua, shiny ribbon, nylon string, Kirsten’s hand-spun and dyed wool, Juliet’s acrylic paint background, Spanish glue, copper wire and last but not least the ubiquitous scoobies.
  • 122 x 60 cm

The Brighton pier is central to the tukutuku panel, as it is to the New Brighton landscape. The long shadows of the pier legs make a kaoako pattern upon the water. Above the pier and its outreach are the poutama (clouds) which also represent a stairway to knowledge. Beneath these are three Karoro. Te Korero Karoro (the seagull’s chatter – echoed by the voices of the local children) is the Māori name for New Brighton and the three seagulls are also symbolic of the three baskets of knowledge.

The other central feature is the oval shape of the library seen from the air, this is also the shape of a surfboard, surfers as well as seagulls being our all-weather companions! At the top and bottom edges are gold coloured aramoana patterns which illustrate the sun glinting off the waves and are an acknowledgement of our two docked libraries Parklands and Lyttelton, also coastal in their locations.

The Escher-like patikitiki (diamond-shaped fish) express the abundance and richness of character and ethnic groups in this library’s area, whose contributions are dotted about the edges of the panel. This coming together of culture, knowledge and character is expressed also in the Greek key (meander) design conveying unity and infinity, an echo of ancient Greece, the birthplace of libraries. The meander have a wave-like quality, as does the aramoana pattern permeating the whole design, set against nature’s abundance, the ever changing colours of the ocean and sky, the brilliant richness of sunrise and sunset.

Panel creation

Images from New Brighton Library's tukutuku panel weaving

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CCL Staff's New Brighton tukutuku panel photoset CCL Staff's New Brighton tukutuku panel photoset

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