TV presenter Oriini Kaipara furious at artist 'profiting off whakapapa'

By Mildred Armah, Stuff

A painting depicting the likeness of former Newshub presenter Oriini Kaipara has been removed from an online marketplace after complaints it was done without her knowledge or consent.

The artist, who identified himself as Warren Thomas listed the painting featuring Kaipara's notable moko kauae on the platform Artwork City, for $1200.

Kaipara, now the Māori cultural lead for the New Zealand Olympic Committee, said she had no idea about the painting and found out through messages on Instagram.

She then took to the social media platform to voice her outrage beginning the caption with, "Here we go again".

"Dude, you're charging $1200 for a picture you painted of me ... You've been in Aotearoa 5 minutes and have already assumed it's okay to take a complete stranger's face and make money off it.

"The answer is NO. Donate those proceeds to the local kōhanga reo in your area. You can Google it. Then, I suggest you sit with the whānau of that kōhanga reo to gain understanding of te ao Māori and why I'm not okay about you profiting off my whakapapa."

The post accompanied screenshots of the advertisements including a description from Thomas saying he'd moved "from Africa" to New Zealand, and "moko tattoos have always inspired me as I have numerous tattoos myself".

"This is a tribute to my new home, rugby, tattoos and the deep spiritual connections that unite all people under one God."

Speaking to Stuff, Kaipara said she was "shocked and disappointed" to have an artist depict her likeness without her consent for the second time.

"I thought, 'oh my gosh, it's happening again'," she said.

In 2020, artist Samantha Payne made headlines after also painting Kaipara's moko kauae without permission.

"I'm just really disappointed we're back here again and I'm having to make public the points I thought were made clear four years ago," Kaipara said.

"If you're considering painting someone's image, you should seek permission from that person, or at least do a little bit of research on who that person is, and whether they are still alive.

"If they are, reach out to them and ask them if it's okay to draw their image, and say your intention is to sell it online. That's really important, especially when it comes to cultural matters."

Kaipara said she's against commercialising her image for personal profit because the moko kauae is sacred in Māori customary practices, and like all moko, is connected to the whakapapa of the wearer.

"It's tapu to that genealogical line. Mine is a depiction of my whakapapa, my genealogy. This particular one belongs to my great-grandmother so I don't want to see it on anyone else's faces."

Kaipara said had she been approached about being painted, the answer wouldn't have been a no outright.

"It'd be a no unless 100 percent of the profit went to something I feel passionately about such as the revitalisation of my language, my culture. But if you have no intention of doing that, why should I give permission?"

Kaipara said she hoped this experience would be a "learning moment" for people to understand the importance of seeking permission before painting anyone with a moko kauae or other cultural/indigenous tattoos.

"I want to emphasise it is very personal to the person who's wearing it and unless you have permission, It is not okay to use at all. It's appropriation of my culture."

Thomas did not respond to requests for comment.

Artwork City founder Christian Mendoza said the image was removed from the website following complaints.

"Any commission we get on it, we'll be donating to the local kōhanga reo ... this has been a good learning curve for us to be more culturally aware," Mendoza said.

"As artists, we give them the benefit of posting what they should know would be culturally appropriate.

"But, this has taught us we need to be more vigilant on our end and we're talking with the team about that."

- This story was first published by Stuff.