Ko Tamatea rāua ko Rakaumangamanga ōku maunga, ko Hokianga rāua ko Ipipiri ōku moana, ko Ngātokimatawhaorua te waka, ko Te Rarawa me Ngāpuhi ngā iwi. Ko Mark Howard tōku ingoa.
Nau mai, haere mai ki Toi Maaka.
Based in Kaeo in the Far North of Aotearoa, my mahi toi combines traditional approaches to whakairo with contemporary carving and sculptural forms. The practice is shaped through kōrero, whakapapa, te taiao, and the relationship between people, material, and place.
Drawing and making have always been present. School books and desks were often filled with scratched kōwhaiwhai and patterns, long before those forms began to emerge through carving. Seeing those drawings take shape in wood planted a seed that would not fully surface until many years later.
Although whakairo became a more serious pursuit later in life, the practice developed gradually alongside full-time work as a locomotive engineer. Chisels and plasters became regulars in the work bag, with small projects chipped away at between shifts while waiting for the next train.
After eventually moving north to “retire”, carving naturally became more of a focus. Supported by skilled tohunga whakairo within whānau, alongside a wider collective of carvers, the work continues to evolve through patience, rangahau, experimentation, and process.
Whakairo carries histories, whakapapa, and pūrākau across generations.
Working primarily with native and reclaimed timbers, the process is guided by the unique nature of each piece of wood itself. Patience, problem solving, and the ability to imagine the final form before it exists all play an important role in shaping the mahi.
From commissioned taonga to contemporary sculptural works, the practice continues to explore the relationship between narrative, culture, material, and carving.
