Mitchell Manuel, a Kuki Airani, Māori, Scottish, Tahitian and Portuguese digital artist based in Wellington , New Zealand, is exploring his Scottish Clan heritage through a Māori and Pasifika lens - through their recurrence relation within mātrāmeru (Pingala).
“As an adult, I sought to weave these experiences together.” Research into his family history revealed a narrative shaped by the Scottish Clearances and the 1851 Emigration Advances Act, which prompted tens of thousands, including his great-grandfather George Outher Brown’s forebears, to leave for Australia and beyond. “I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of Scottish and Gaelic culture to give meaning and depth to the images and my art,” says Manuel.
Artistically, I employ digital vector programs to meticulously weave common tartan threads and clan colours in conjunction with Fibonacci. I then integrate deconstructed and reconstructed koru - fundamental Māori symbols. This process creates a precise, ‘mathematically accurate’ fusion, where each element respects the integrity of both cultures, symbolising their historical and familial convergence.
“As an adult, I sought to weave these experiences together.” Research into his family history revealed a narrative shaped by the Scottish Clearances and the 1851 Emigration Advances Act, which prompted tens of thousands, including his great-grandfather George Outher Brown’s forebears, to leave for Australia and beyond. “I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of Scottish and Gaelic culture to give meaning and depth to the images and my art,” says Manuel.
Artistically, I employ digital vector programs to meticulously weave common tartan threads and clan colours in conjunction with Fibonacci. I then integrate deconstructed and reconstructed koru - fundamental Māori symbols. This process creates a precise, ‘mathematically accurate’ fusion, where each element respects the integrity of both cultures, symbolising their historical and familial convergence.
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