Tūmanakotanga

Tūmanakotanga is a public artwork installed in a shopping mall in Tauranga, created through a collaborative process led by local takatāpui. The work brings light and identity into a highly visible public space, affirming presence where queer identities are often unseen. Coloured forms filter sunlight through the architecture, casting shifting bands of colour onto the floor and linking outside and inside, sky and body. As people move through the space, they enter fields of colour that invite engagement and shared experience. Tūmanakotanga celebrates visibility, representation, and collective joy within the everyday public realm.

This work was an offsite activation as part of the exhibition Mānawatia Takatāpui/Defending Plurality.