Hihi

2026 | Embroidery thread, yarn, cotton and organza on tulle.
Series: What We Cultivate
This series explores themes of gendered labour, botanical colonialism and material practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Hihi was created for my Critical Studies project (2025-2026) for the Bachelor of Creative Media at UCOL and is part of the ongoing series What We Cultivate. I began by weaving with yarn and thread scraps on a base of iridescent organza, then added a teacup fussy-cut from quilting cotton, which I embellished, and hand-embroidered the hihi. In this piece, the nationally vulnerable native hihi is picked out in metallic threads, emphasising the preciousness of our native flora and fauna, while the floral teacup is a nod to my great-grandmother Hilda, who was known to always have a cup of tea at the ready for passing swaggers during the Great Depression. The year on the teabag label, 1922, is the year she and her husband Ernest emigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand from Britain.