Te Wheke (The Octopus) No.7 - Original Painting

Te Wheke (The Octopus) No.7 | Paula Coulthard

Based in the Wairarapa, Paula Coulthard is a mixed media artist, whose love of natural materials and history, inspires the beautiful Artworks that she creates.

Te Wheke series is a celebration of the many superpowers of the amazing octopus! Te Wheke has 3 hearts, 8 arms, & 9 brains. Have colour changing cells & can change colour in a split second. Are masters of disguise & can mimic their environment & other animals. They are very smart & learn from experience, they are great problem solvers & can use tools, they are boneless & can squeeze into tight spaces.  

There are 42 species of Octopus in the waters around Aotearoa, including two of the world’s largest types of Octopus! The Giant Gelatinous Octopus grows to 4m & the Giant South Pacific Octopus reaches 3m.  

There is a Māori story of Kupe & Te Wheke O Muturangi
Kupe pursued his enemy Te Wheke O Muturangi down the east coast of the  North Island where Te Wheke took refuge in a cave in the reef of Castlepoint  (Rangiwhakaoma) below where the lighthouse sits today. The cave is known as Te  Ana O Te Wheke O Muturangi) Te Wheke is still thought to reside in the cave in the form of dangerous currents beneath the reef, and the waves that crash on the reef are the arms of Te Wheke. Where Te Wheke O Muturangi is remembered there are dangerous waters. 


Original Artwork - Framed in Light Oak Frame

 
Dimensions:
Framed - Width - 570mm x Height - 810mm

Please Note - 
The 'in situ mockup' is merely an example of visual representation within an environment and it does not truly reflect the size of the work. Please refer to the measurements above for the exact dimensions of this flag.