Face value

Cast artist Messini Palace is going against the mould, creating a contemporary twist on time-old traditions

- Caroline Moratti

Messini Palace is at her Auckland studio seven days a week, her self-proclaimed "happy place." It's there she creates the most dazzling, transfixing cast art with resin and ceramics. "The possibilities seem endless, and I am obsessed with form and colour and how I can transform a traditional whakairo rākau (wood carving) design into a contemporary piece," she says. Having only recently connected with her whakapapa (Ngāti Apakura and Ngā Puhi), Messini is "coming home" through her work, each piece a brick in the road there.

When and how did you start making cast art?

I am relatively new to being a full-time artist. I cast my first wheku (carved face) around December 2021 in hard finish plaster. I think Covid lockdowns and an unhappy work life pushed me back into my creative space. I had also been exploring my Māori whakapapa so casting whakairo rākau seemed to happen organically, starting with a piece I had bought in a thrift shop about 20 years ago.

Do you think being self-taught has informed your art?

Being self-taught at mould making and casting means that mistakes have and continue to be made.. I have probably created my own techniques and learned to problem solve and evolve in a very organic way. It's very rewarding and sometimes frustrating.

What's the process for making your resin pieces?