Whare Tangata Taurua
In 2025 the artist had a hysterectomy. One of two works that marks this event. It honours our whare tangata | uterus and the tapu connection to atua and whenua through the whare tangata.
Embroidered and beaded hand-dyed linen, cotton and wool | 2025
Kim Tairi (Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura; he uri ahau Norway, Scotland, England) is a self-taught multimedia textile artist and Aotearoa's first Māori University Librarian. Her mokopuna and uri driven art practice honours the textile traditions of her tūpuna - her grandmother Whakamura Nora Tairi, a renowned maker of kete, and her Nana Ada Bradley, a knitter extraordinaire. Kim creates art dolls and embroidered pieces that explore whakapapa, whenua, and wāhine Māori experience. She is part of Moana Fresh collective in Tāmaki Makaurau.