Mareikura Takiri Whakataka-Brightwell
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Mareikura Takiri Whakataka-Brightwell
23 years old
Tahitian/Maori (Polynesian I guess)
I was born in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. My mother is Tahitian and my daddy is Maori. I grew up in Gisborne.
Hello. My name is Mareikura. M-A-R-E-I-K-U-R-A. Mareikura, a Maori name handed down to me from my father's father, by our ancestor's ancestors. The meaning stems from Polynesian mythology, in brief it means "red feathered belt" a sign of chieftainship and prowess. These days, people just call me Marei, I guess its easier to say, most folks can't pronounce Mareikura anyway. I've been called all sorts of things in my time, Marai, Marae, Marity, Marty and even Mary. I guess I put up with it because at a young age, I realised that the world I lived in didn't care too much about saying my name right. I even got kicked out of class once when I was 14 because the teacher called me Marekuria (kuri meaning "dog" in Maori) as you would imagine, I got annoyed and told her where to go. Now, I just can't be bothered constantly correcting people who obviously don't give a shit.
What The Babel Project is about for me
I guess I like the idea of being called an "artiste" , with all its eccentric ponsy connotations. But seriously, I just get annoyed whenever I want to do something, yet can never avoid the racial stigma attached to being Maori. For f**k's sake, we were here first so dont ask me if I "need any help" whenever I go into a shop, whilst glaring at me in a condescending way as if im going to steal something or give you a crack. Shit man, were not all a bunch of thieving, dole bludging, child killing, wife beating scum buckets. Geeez.
My cultural background
Im Maori. Yep. oh and Tahitian. And I think its great. I like grapefruit.
About my art
Hmm. Well I never really considered myself as an "artist". I like tutuing around with my computer and making stuff look cool. Whether it be film, photos or poetry. I dont really have any formal training in the field of media or digital arts, however I think I do a damn good job! My favourite movie is "City of God". Watch it, its cool az. Sucks when Benny dies though.
