Citizen, 2026
Tanea Heke performs twelve New Zealanders from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
Through shifts in gesture, Heke becomes a composite figure, reflecting the layered, multicultural reality of contemporary Aotearoa. By centring a Māori woman in her element as a performer, the work acknowledges tangata whenua as foundational while resisting the reduction of identity to a symbol. Heke is Māori—and she is everyone, and the act of representation itself. The work proposes shared belonging, where difference is held within unity, and collectively, we are all Kiwis.
Citizen, 2026. oil on board, 190 x 170 cm.
Tanea Heke (Ngā Puhi) is a Māori actor, theatre-maker, and cultural leader shaping how Aotearoa imagines itself. Her work spans performance, directing, and interdisciplinary collaboration across theatre, visual art, and public culture. As Director of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, she mentors future artists while bridging creative practice, education, and cultural leadership nationally and internationally. Heke foregrounds Māori perspectives while engaging diverse communities, positioning her at the cutting edge of Aotearoa’s contemporary cultural landscape.
I asked Tanea to enact each of the twelve characters in the same pose in a moment of thought.
No other instruction was given.
A Filipino lady who worked as a house keeper in Hong Kong for a Kiwi pilot. She became such a family fixture that they sponsored her to move back to NZ with them and become the kids beloved honorary "aunty".
A 2nd generation Indian radiologist who specialises in working with trauma patients. His family refuse to see him since he came out 2 years ago. He has a small dog that he takes everywhere, plenty of friends at his running club, plenty of friends at his LGBT support group, and plenty of friends from his school days, but he still feels a bit lonely.
A 50 year old part time chef who runs a bed & breakfast from her enormous farm house which was left to her by her great aunt, despite being the youngest of her 9 male cousins and 2 brothers.
An Australian born half Māori, half Scottish retired engineer with two recently missing digits, and one recently deceased wife from the same accident.
A middle aged Māori woman who grew up being the black sheep in her adopted Pākehā family, now esteemed in the arts as one of New Zealand's highly respected creative professionals.
A South African hand surgeon who frequently turns down patients so that he can fly back to SA for three or four days every month to visit his 96 year old mother who has been poorly since her husband died 35 years ago and refuses to leave the family home to come and live with him.
A Chinese born concert piano accompanist and maths tutor who's young child has severe autism and can't tolerate being away from her - but because he sits in on all her lessons, he's extremely good at music and maths which makes her so proud.
A 20 year old Cook Islander who excels in rugby, is crazy about orange juice, knows everything about motor bikes, and just got asked to teach extracurricular mechanics to a small group of misunderstood teenage boys at his old high school.
A NZ born second generation Israeli woman who lived as an expat for 22 years teaching English in Japan, returned home to NZ 10 years ago to be close to family and teach basic Japanese.
A pakeha sheep farmer from central north island with the world's thickest kiwi accent, who worked the family farm since he was young, has mixed feelings about both his kids having really good IT jobs in Auckland.
A super freckled, ginger-ringlet haired young woman with 1/8th Māori heritage struggles with body dysmorphia and feelings of inadequacy whilst being among the fittest and smartest in her class.
An elderly retired avocado grower who subdivided her house from the grove next door, still enjoys offering tea to the seasonal pickers, even though she no longer owns the business. She just loves meeting people from different cultures who are there on working holidays