“Our garden is New Zealand with many different, beautiful flowers . . . we are so so different, but we can grow together.”

“I see our past as something to learn from, something to propel us forward,”

“We are all Pacific Islanders. If you live in Aotearoa, you live here, you call it home, you are a Pacific Islander in my view.”

“There was no way they were going to put me off by saying we can’t have passage”

“I think we belong to the land more than the borders that we create.”

“Whenever I’m away and see that koru on the airplane, it pulls me home . . . It pulls me to where I was born. My home.”

“Today there are a lot of ethnic groups here and we are really embracing each other.”

“Everyone deserves freedom of speech and I hope to speak up and speak out for what I think is

right through my work.”

“You’re a hand and you’re a heart and you’re a hope for humanity.”

“Family means no one is left behind..”

“I tried to combine these two

cultures and make the best out of it. I don’t want these

cultures divided.”

“I call myself a composite kind of person - I have put this weaving on here as a representation of

that feeling of being put together by different elements.”

“Being included in culture - I would love to see that for Tauranga because it’s such a brilliant feeling.”

“Faith, Hope and Love - which embodies

my general outlook on life.”

“This was going to be me situated in my culture, not knowing it, trying to get involved, being intimidated by it - my head is situated so far away I need to be.”

“A big part of loving our neighbours is to be able to celebrate ‘distinctives’ of different people.”

“The hoe represents all of humanity right now paddling through rocky waters.”

“Life can be complicated so I made my hoe very simple.”

“Life is about debate, it’s about people having different opinions and those opinions should be listened to and valued.

“What I’d like (for Tauranga) are waterways that are clean and land that is well used, that uphold the notion of clean green New Zealand.”

“It’s people meeting people and making plans together that create journeys and

opportunities.”

“We need to move forward,

that way our shadows stay back, not in front of us.”

Childhood memories from South Africa and Vancouver.

“Acknowledge the lessons of the past and incorporate them into the future.”

“The green colour I have chosen represents heart charkra, it means love - so live in harmony with love.”

“A journey of how we can use the past to inspire the future, as we move forward writing our own story and legacy.”

“Home is where the heart is!”