Aroha Novak
Te Tihi-o-Maru. 2020
LOCATION: D.C. Turnbull Building, Strathallan Street Timaru.
Aroha Novak Te Tihi-o-Maru. 2020 - Photography by Roselyn Fauth
Aroha Novak's Te Tihi-o-Maru
Timaru's second Aroha Novak mural was completed in July 2020. The ti kouka or cabbage tree-centred painting was designed to look like a vintage postcard, of Timaru pre European settlement.
“The design is my idea of Timaru pre-settlement. It’s like vintage postcard. The site it’s on is quite long, narrow, and in portrait – so the star of the image is a tī kouka.”
Novak said she chose a cabbage tree because it was “intrinsically” tied to the name Timaru or Te Tihi-o-Maru, its Māori equivalent.
“There are different interpretations of what Timaru is derived from. One point is Te Maru, which means place of shelter. The other is Tī Maru, shelter or cabbage tree.”
DC Turnbull Ltd commissioned the mural on the back of a movement by Timaru Civic Trust and Alive Vibrant Timaru to bring street art to the South Canterbury town.