Koekoeā Studio is the graphic and digital branch of what I do. I draw, paint, write, create videos, develop stories, and communicate ideas in many shapes.
The Koekoea /koikoi-aa/ is a long-tailed cuckoo native of my home country, Aotearoa New Zealand. It has significance for my family and connects us to events, people, and the land. It is an outsider bird, herald of Spring, and bringer of knowledge from faraway places.
Activities and Projects
1. Creative Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel & Illustration
Project One: Creative Non-Fiction
A multi-disciplinary project that explores the space where essay meets poetry and image. These essays explore heritage, identity, language and culture, and our interconnectedness in a global present. The work is based on the story of my family repatriating a family heirloom to its tribal origins. This was the cultural practice of reciprocity that is important in our local cultural relationships, nourishing identity and connection. Output: published book, image, and video
Videos about this work
Project Two: Graphic Novel
An image-meets-text storytelling project based on historic research and developed into a novel.
The bi-product of story-telling in the graphic novel and visual format is the digital and ink work that I am creating. Digital prints can be purchased from me in the store.
2. Online Learning and Training Content Design and Development
Current projects:
ELTCampus: This platform I founded and developed. Where my own subject knowledge was lacking, I collaborated with teachers, trainers, and specialists, designing and developing learning material for English teacher trainees.
Kalamna: Collaborating with Dr. Saussan Khalil of Cambridge University, to develop an online training space and course content for training teachers and communities to set up Arabic language schools for children.
