Description:

Concept

The intention of this unique project for Air New Zealand was to celebrate Matariki, support Te ao Māori and champion the use of Te reo Māori through storytelling.

This innovative mixed reality exhibition, told the story of Matariki by introducing the Māori Guardians and their realms in order to communicate a wider understanding of this important cultural season.

User Experience

By putting on a pair of Magic Leap headsets, customers were transported onto our waka rererangi (canoe in the sky) to fly through the guardians realms and into the sky to learn about Matariki all without leaving the room.

To maintain cultural integrity and the illusion of reality with this exhibition we recreated a 7 metre long carved Waka and window made by carvers at New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts as full scale 3D digital replicas.

Design

This project was highly ambitious and innovative, applying emerging technologies to tell an important cultural story.

As a performance storyteller, Joe uses his whole body to convey the depth of meaning in the stories he tells. It was important that Joe was a key part of the experience so we recreated him digitally using a combination of facial motion capture and photogrammetry with careful curation of his gestures to replicate the authenticity in his storytelling.

Joe’s cultural identity was authentically conveyed through the recreation of his facial Tā moko and pounamu which together embody his culture, status and history.

We collaborated with NZMACI to design and carve a physical Matapihi (window) drawing inspiration from the Mangōpare which adorns the waka.

Execution

The team worked closely with cultural leader and storyteller, Joe Harawira to craft the 5 minute story to connect to the essence of the story and convey its meaning.

Joe communicated the importance of telling this story because Matariki is one of the stories that has been brought back with the revival of indigenous knowledge systems and it is a season that many generations have missed out on because the knowledge holders have gone beyond the veil.

We blended the real and digital world authentically through the use of digital replicas, film and narration by our lead storyteller, Joe Harawira.

We introduced the Matariki star constellation by asking users to hold out their hand and throw the stars into the sky. This was to connect to the story of Matariki, the shortened name for Ngā mata o te ariki Tāwhirimātea, which means the eyes of the god.

We trained Māori 3D students on this project to pass on our knowledge, ensuring skills transfer and growth in this technology sector.

The cultural importance of this project is it enables Māori to continue to tell their stories, traditionally passed down through carvings and song, using a new medium of today.