Kape – Vessel of Knowledge.

This project kicked off in 2018 with Marc Lenton and Oriwa Morgan-Ward being the first artists to take on the mural project. The mural added colour and dimension to the space making it friendly to visit for quiet contemplation over a good book or a time out space for a class of school students. The wall also faces council staff offices making a nice retreat for the eyes when taking screen breaks.

Kape is the result of a colab between Oriwa Morgan-Ward and Marc Lenton. Both took on this project to showcase their flexibility of styles and materials they are used to working in.

Marc Lenton is an artist designer fabricator living in Waitomo Caves who creates stunning open space public artworks mainly in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. He enjoys making big sculptures and unique one-off jewellery. Oriwa Morgan-Ward is a Māori artist who is developing her teaching skills whilst imbuing strong whakapapa connections and cultural sensitivity when creating artwork and presenting educational programmes.

Kape activates the viewer’s mind to open up a portal to the past, present, and future moving you from one place in time to another.

Like Kape, the Te Awamutu Museum is a pathway to the rich history within its unique landscape and communities in the Waipā district which is constantly transforming and developing. The Museum reveals the past and windows to the future.

Right-hand panel: Past – The Atua Tane Mahuta gets the seed from the tree of light.

Middle panel: Present – Navigating the space of Tangaroa, Atua of the sea depicting the need to be flexible and fluid.

Left-hand panel: Future – Transformation, time to regenerate from the puku of Papatūānuku and move forward by utilising the seeds of knowledge gained from the past, and nurtured by the present.

Maungatautari, Kakepuku and Pirongia Maunga are represented by triangles within the art. Each panel is an individual design of its own, when viewed as a whole triptych, they portray an abstract vessel of knowledge.

Here is a time-lapse video of Marc and Oriwa working on the mural and a bit of a kōrero after.