A tribute to the Māori prophet Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki (1830–1893), Te Wepu MMXXIII repurposes symbols loaded with significance—the crescent moon, cross, mountain, bleeding heart, and star—alongside colours alluding to the Union Jack, to reinvigorate them as symbols of resistance within the neo-colonial present. Known for a practice that straddles design, illustration, animation, and sculpture, Jahnke’s work is typically based on political issues that face Māori, the relationship between Māori and European colonisers, and the impact of Christianity on Māori culture.
