Kupe Mere (Kupe's Mere)
Medium: New Zealand jade
Dimensions: 280 mm x 160 mm x 34 mm.
Year: 2011
Currently in the Taranaki Art Award Exhibition 27 October to 3 November.
The legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe is attributed with discovering Aotearoa. He chased a wheke (octopus) from his homeland near Tahiti where the octopus was troublesome and eating all the fish. While chasing the beast Kupe discovered New Zealand before finally striking it with his mere eventually killing the giant octopus.
Upon learning of this legend I wondered what Kupe's mere would be made of. My response was to carve this mere honoring Kupe. The holder of Kupe's Mere grasps the lower arms of the octopus when griping the handle and symbolically seizes the octopus.
This piece inspired me to create a Mere for Captain Cook and two other patu concerned with cultural identity; Celtic Knot patu and Celtic Koru Patu