Women of the World
Wahine Toa
by Marion van den Ende
Her head thrown back in laughter, her hands clasped, she stands at the heart of her community. On her chin she wears the *moko* — the tattoo that tells of her descent, her standing and her story.
- TechniqueHahnemühle · Dibond
- Size80 × 80 cm
- EditionEdition of 24
- Price€895
Bearer of the culture
The Maori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand, who arrived across the great ocean around the thirteenth century. Among the women the *moko kauae* — the tattoo upon the chin — is a deeply honoured mark: it speaks of ancestry, of family, and of one's own place within the *whānau*, the wider community. No two are alike; every *moko* is a written identity.
In Maori culture the woman is the bearer of the bloodline and the living memory of her people. Around her sounds the *waiata*, the sung story, and the shared dance in which joy and pride are celebrated aloud. What you see here is not a pose but a moment of pure, shared vitality.
Marion van den Ende calls this work *Wahine Toa* — strong woman. The fresco treatment gives her the timelessness of stone, as though her laughter has echoed for centuries through the hills of her land.
