Tēnā koutou, Ko Māka ahau. I hail from Ngāti Ranginui and have the privilege of being a practicing tā moko artist here in my hometown of Tauranga Moana. As well as Tā moko I am also a passionate visual artist and have completed my Diploma in Toi Māori at the Te Wananga O Aotearoa. Some medium I enjoy expressing myself with are painting, drawing and digital design.

I was drawn to tā moko and toi in hope to find a way to deepen my identity and connection to my own Māoritanga and whakapapa. I also find a lot of inspiration in weaving my personal stories/experiences as a Takatāpui/trans man individual together with the natural world to bring forward my unique artistic expression. To my surprise I found that I am the only Trans Tā moko artist in Aotearoa. This lead me to make a commitment to myself to create more spaces for our takatāpui whanau (queer māori) to explore their own relationship with being queer māori artists. So amongst my art mahi I also work as a Peer Support worker at RainbowYOUTH. I am very passion about the energetic healing aspect that toi māori can bring.