Cora-Allan Wickliffe Postcard

Cora-Allan Wickliffe

Niuean / Māori
Hiapo Maker

Postcards Unlocked #20

At the moment we are all in lockdown and staying safe in our bubbles, this for me means I am at home with my 3 month infant Wakiya-Wacipi, 3 year old son Chaske-Waste and my fiancé Daniel Twiss. Being home for us is strange even though we are home bodies; my family often visits as we have two meals a week together and have done this since I was 16.

Being a traditional Hiapo maker I have taken to using this time to prep materials slowly and have enjoyed having my son around to watch me. Even though he is 3 years old he is seeing a traditional art form that not many get to see and when he can be bothered he has a go at beating cloth as well. Slowing down has really allowed to me to think about my time with my kids and what my practice might mean to them when they are older and I wonder if one day they will be able to make the piece of cloth my body will be wrapped in when I pass away.

The current piece I am making is traditional in composition and I find myself reaching for journals that have documentation of plants where my grandparents lived in Niue, this too inspires my use of patterns.
Cora-Allan wickliffe

This Hiapo is something I want to really take my time with and not rush; I don’t often make for exhibitions or for commission and produce works organically so I don’t feel pressured and have a sense of peace when I complete something.

I am really interested in other cloth practitioners as well and stay in contact with many of them, this part of making is what I enjoy and like being in a community that knows what it means to make with the seasons of harvesting and when the weather is good it is time to produce materials for the Winter ahead. However with two kids at home this is not easy and they demand more time and energy than Hiapo ever has, which is fine and I don’t mind it but I am looking forward to a day where we get to drop the kids off to our whanau who miss them dearly.