Te Ringa Toi Maori Secondary Schools Art Exhibition (Part 2)

Afghan brothers take first and second place at the Ringa Toi Student Exhibition

Mahdi and Ali Hussaini are two young former refugees from war-torn Afghanistan. Their brothers first encounter with whakairo, Maori carving, was at a museum, and they were fascinated. The brothers said, whakairo was something totally new to them and were surprised to see the shape and form of it and wanted to know, how do they do it?

Both brothers took first and second place for whakairo at this year’s Te Ringa Toi Maori Art Student Exhibition, an annual showcase of Maori artwork by secondary school students.

Ali Hussaini (left) and Mahdi Hussaini (right)

Mahdi Hussaini’s wheku or carving of a human face took first place in the whakairo category of the Ringa Toi Student Exhibition.

Ali Hussaini carved the base for this toki, adze, which took second place.