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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Wellington

‘The original art galleries’: protecting New Zealand’s hidden Māori rock art

A figures holding what may be a spear, drawn in black on pale limestone
A work of Māori rock art from the Ōpihi site on New Zealand’s South Island. Photograph: Rob Brown

There are two tricks to seeing Māori rock art. The first is to let your eyes slowly adjust to the black and red markings on the limestone and allow the images to float out of the rock like a mirage: the coiled tails of taniwha (revered water spirits), the outspread wings of the now-extinct giant eagle, figures holding weapons and tools, plants, sea creatures and waka (canoes).

The second trick is knowing the art exists in the first place.

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