A craft connection
Ko Ngāi Tahu tōku iwi
Ko Ngāti Huirapa, ko Ngāti Irakehu ōku hapū
Ko Rawiri Te Maire, ko Hine Te Marino ōku tipuna
Ko Alice Spittle ahau
Ōtautahi-based maker and artist Alice Spittle says, “A walk with me takes longer than expected and is like taking a toddler to the park.” It is because she is always stopping to take in the small things along the way.
“I appreciate the beauty that is all around us and often goes unnoticed,” Alice says. “I wonder how this may have inspired our tīpuna (ancestors).”
This thinking underpins and influences her art practice. Above all, as a Māori artist, Alice’s work is rooted in tikanga.
“Tikanga is imbued in everything I do across all art forms and everyday life. It’s what keeps me connected, safe, and grounded.”
She draws from all her life experiences to create works of art that are both deeply personal and share a unique perspective.
Alice currently has a working studio space at Toi Auaha. For her, it is an opportunity to have a designated space to get creative and where she can delve into her painting, fibre, and weaving work. Having access to a studio with other artists allows her to connect with like-minded creatives and draw inspiration from a diversity of styles and techniques. This has become an important home for her creative energy and is a place where she can continue to grow and evolve as an artist – hopefully with an exhibition outcome in 2024.
“My art has a Māori lens because my life has always been focused on my connection to my whakapapa.”
Alice is currently reinventing old canvases and imbuing them with new life. She is combining old ideas and techniques with her new knowledge and influences.
Painting is where she gets “to be explosive and play with traditional and contemporary techniques on a canvas.”
She will always seek to deepen her knowledge of who she is, where she comes from, and her place in the world. Alice says her role as an artist and weaver goes beyond just her. She is passionate about traditional knowledge being passed on to future generations. Alice says she likes sharing her experiences and findings with “my tamariki, my whānau, friends, and wider community.”
She wants to “ensure our knowledge doesn’t just stay with us and that it gets passed on from generation to generation.”
Alice says working with harakeke has helped strengthen her connection to her culture.
“So many of our pūrākau (stories) come back to harakeke. You’ll hear it being talked about on the marae and in many whakatauki (proverbs). So much of our history’s success links back to our relationship with the plant.”
For Alice, art is not just a means of creative expression but also a way of honouring her culture and heritage. She hopes to inspire others to connect with their roots and appreciate the natural world’s beauty.
She has had many influences in her practice, and Alice thanks those she credits for getting her to where she is today.
“Ka nui te mihi ki ēnei pou whirinaki;
Reihana Parata (Aunty Doe);
Morehu Flutey-Henare (Nanny Mū);
Rānui Ngārimu;
Pip Devonshire;
Elaine Bevon;
Paula Rigby.”
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei.