After more than 130 years away, Mataatua Wharenui – New Zealand's most travelled Māori meeting house – has been returned to the Ngāti Awa tribe.
The Idea
Create an immersive experience to tell the history of the wharenui and Ngāti Awa; in a way that would respect and enhance this ancient building without eclipsing it.
The Tech
Click Suite achieved this ambitious project using ‘digital projection mapping’ – a first for Click Suite – and made even more challenging due to the richly detailed carvings and tukutuku (woven flax panels) we had as our projection canvas.
The Results
When visitors enter the meeting house they are treated to stories about ancestral artefacts - yet done a way they have never experienced before - thanks to the melding of ancient carvings and modern technology. We think that the result speaks for itself in the words of the visitors to Mataatua… “Amazing” - “Blown away” - “Outstanding” - “Transfixed” Sleepy Whakatane is now the talk of the resurgent Māori tourism industry thanks to a few sophisticated tricks of the light.
