Simone Ishinabe
Using a stylised heart shape design, Simone combines the traditional Japanese Shippō pattern with customary Māori colours (black, white and red) to represent kotahitanga and the strength of a diverse, collective community.
Simone is an artist and art teacher living in Kirikiriroa. Her art practice explores customary and contemporary visual storytelling. By combining cultural patterns and symbolic designs with vibrant colours on natural and man-made materials, Simone reveals hidden meanings within her chosen surface.
Her recent works are inspired by the symbolism within customary toi Māori, as well as Japanese kami (traditional patterns) and the geometric and organic shapes of Celtic and Nordic knotted lines.