Nadia Marychurch

@nadiamarychurchart

Nadia Marychurch is interested in creating works that capture the Māori understanding of time and whakapapa, where past, present, and future coexist, are in constant conversation, and where whakapapa weaves itself into the living fabric of her making. Nadia’s research explores connections to land, lineage, and collective memory as well as cultural hybridity (Māori & Scottish). Her making process is both physical and spiritual - each stage is intentional, from gathering materials to preparing, reconfiguring, and stitching them into new forms. There are protocols and methods that she follows, which are informed by tikanga.

‘Toroa’ draws on the language of tukutuku (Māori latticework) reimagined as a sculptural practice that holds space for whakapapa. Woollen blankets carry their own political and historical weight. These materials were once traded with settlers in acts that often signalled imbalance and dispossession. Nadia aims to use the material for reclamation and repair. The hybridity of her materials reflects the layered complexity of her own whakapapa, which weaves together Māori and Pākehā lineages. 

Nadia says, “My work does not attempt to resolve that tension; it honours it, making visible the intersections of culture, land and identity.”