All you need is love and wool.
The joyful and vibrant Wharenui Harikoa is coming to Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Made from 5,000 balls of brightly coloured yarn and crocheted by hand, this full size wharenui (meeting house) has been wowing audiences across Aotearoa New Zealand. Now Cantabrians can experience this unique fusion of traditional whakairo (carving) inspired embellishments and neon wool.
Artists Lissy Robinson-Cole (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) and Rudi Robinson-Cole (Waikato, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa) spent 3 years making Wharenui Harikoa, which means House of Joy. The monumental task of creating this neon-coloured wharenui began with a simple crochet hook and a clutch of eye-catching yarn.
Lissy and Rudi say the wharenui often sparks an emotional reaction.
“People have tears and emotions when they come face-to-face with our work. There is something that is much bigger than us that is happening. It is an expression of love,” says Lissy.
“It’s the wool and the softness of the wool that draws people back to their past memories. There is that connection of memories of a nana or family member who has crotcheted or knitted something.”
Rudi says they hope to tour the world with the wharenui. They are talking to institutions in Europe and the USA about future exhibitions.
“We have always had a global vision. It is about our tīpuna-inspired light shining across the sky like a rainbow. We know the whare will go everywhere and will go where it wants to go. It has its own life force.”
The wharenui is more than just an art installation for Lissy and Rudi – it's a manifestation of their dreams, identity, and the love they have for each other and their people.
“This project is a tribute to our tīpuna (ancestors), a celebration of our culture, and a testament to the healing power of art.
“The wharenui embodies our vision of manifesting intergenerational healing and deeply felt joy.
“We aim to connect cultures, heal hearts, and spread joy – one loop, one stitch, one community at a time.”
Creating the wharenui was an act of healing and helped reclaim Māori culture, Lissy says.
“We have suffered so greatly here as Māori. There is so much that we have lost and we need to reclaim and reimagine and heal from. The wharenui is a colourful and hopeful dream world that is full of love,’’ she says.
The couple’s woolly adventures began soon after they met in 2014.
“We knew straight away that what we each brought was so different yet complementary,’’ Lissy says.
Their first crotched creations were woollen poppies on an Auckland underpass on Anzac Day 2016.
“We knew that we were onto something and it would have a global impact of aroha (love).”
Museum Tumuaki/Director Anthony Wright says Canterbury Museum is proud to help bring Wharenui Harikoa to Te Waipounamu/South Island for the first time.
“This will be a real summer treat for Cantabrians of all ages. It is a beautiful, bright and uplifting work of art that creates a sense of excitement wherever it goes. We can’t wait for it to open.”