Mark Kopua
"He maha te Moko. He whakapapa, he kaupapa, he toi tangata, toi whenua, he toi atua. He hakari ma te kanohi, ma te wairua."
Mark Kopua (Ngati Ira, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngati Porou) is a carver and ta moko artist.
After a 23-year career as a traditional carver, Mark started doing ta moko full-time. During his carving career, he worked on approximately seven meeting houses as the head carver and continues to do consultancy work as a Maori arts advisor. He is in high demand for his tā moko work and, from his home in Tolaga Bay, regularly travels to work on clients around the North Island.
As a practicing ta moko artist, Mark is actively concerned with the re-development of the symbolism and information attached to tā moko designs, mostly focusing on these issues as they pertain to his affiliated hapu. As a way of disseminating his knowledge and understanding of the subject, Mark often gives seminars on ta moko.
Kua maha nga tau a Mark e whakairo ana me te whakaoti ano i a ia o nga whare whakairo tipuna e maha. I aua tau, na tona mahi ano i tipu te hiahia kia mau i a ia te moko, kia mau ano i a ia te uhi ta. No nga tau iti noa nei i mua, i hikina e ia te uhi, te ngira ta moko kia ta i a ia ona whanaunga ki nga tohu moko a o ratou tipuna. Koia kua pau nga tau maha o mua i teneki whainga.
Mark is a current member of Te Uhi a Mataora national collective of ta moko artists. He is currently the chairperson of Runanga Whakairo, the national carvers committee of Toi Maori Aotearoa.
Links
Mark Kopua biography and photos from the event 'Ta Moko - A history on skin' held at Te Papa Tongarewa / Museum of New Zealand in 2004
Ta Moko website, includes numerous articles about ta moko.
Uruora website. A team of ta moko artists working around Aotearoa and overseas. This website has information about three artists (Mark Kopua, Broughton Johnson and Luke Mathews) as well as a good sized gallery of their work.