This vivid lithograph radiates with saturated colour: deep sapphire, electric cobalt and olive green layered across the bird’s plumage like lacquered enamel. Once thought extinct, the South Island takahē was dramatically rediscovered in 1948 in the remote Te Puhi-a-noa Murchison Mountains. It remains one of New Zealand’s rarest birds, with a population of just a few hundred surviving today thanks to intensive conservation and predator control. In te ao Māori, the takahē is a taoka species. Its deep blue-green feathers were once prized for weaving into prestigious kākahu huruhuru (feather cloaks), and its presence in stories and traditions speaks to its longstanding significance. Today, the Kāi Tahu iwi is kaitiaki of the takahē, working closely with the Department of Conservation to support its recovery and survival.

—Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith, writer, artist and poet

te ao Māori ~ the Māori world

taoka ~ treasure, thing of cultural value

Kāi Tahu ~ tribal group of much of Te Waipounamu, the South Island

iwi ~ tribe

kaitiaki ~ guardian / guardians

(Bird Land: Te Kāhui Manu 15 August 2026 – 8 February 2027)