Tiaki: Light, spirit and narratives on Courtenay Place

Shannon Te Rangihaeata Clamp is a Whanganui a Tara based artist raised between the Basque Country in southern France and Aotearoa. Deeply connected to his Māori whakapapa, Shannon uses his art to uphold Toi Māori, Mātauranga-a-iwi and hapū and protect Māori pūrākau, knowledge and history. 

Te Rangihaeata Clamp brings a poetic and spiritual dimension to the eight outdoor illuminated boxes lining Courtenay Place. 

Linger and you’ll feel the quiet pulse of ‘Tiaki’. The central figure is a manaia, a bearer who connects the worldly and spiritual realms. 

The work acknowledges the layered whakapapa (history) of the area - especially Te Aro Pā and its people, the original kaitiaki (guardians) of this whenua, as well as those who have come here since. 

‘Tiaki’ is borne from the tension and duality of the place where Te Ao Pā once stood, a place that wears both the scars of displaced Māori peoples alongside the everyday lives of people who now pass through, and those who walk, talk, party, meet, eat, and bring Courtenay Place to life most nights.

Te Rangihaeata Clamp states that ‘Tiaki’ acknowledges the space between people, atua (celestial beings), this place, its histories and its presence. The contrasting faces of ‘Tiaki’ reflect equally upon the people and the spiritual lives that reside here–it marks this whenua (land) as a dynamic place where the tangible and intangible converge.

“Tiaki reflects the spirit and spirits of this place. The atua, the taniwha, and the pūrākau (narratives) passed down through time to watch over us.” 

‘Tiaki’ moves through different states of being—offering a moment of reflection amid the noise and movement of modern urban life.

The Courtenay Place Light Boxes provide an ideal platform for this kind of conversation. Installed in 2008, the eight three-metre high steel and glass LED lightboxes - located at 77–97 Courtenay Place - host a rotating programme of contemporary art, bringing creative storytelling into the heart of the city.

Shannon Te Rangihaeata Clamp has a Masters in Māori Visual Arts from Massey University, Palmerston North, a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching from Victoria University, Wellington, a Diploma in Fine Arts from Whitireia, Wellington, a Diploma in Graphic Design Bordeaux, France, and d'Art Superieur Penninghen, Diploma in Graphic Design, Paris, France. His work gained an Honourable Mention in the 2025 Kiingi Tūheitia Portrait Award at NZ Portrait Gallery.

The exhibition runs until 5 October, and is free and open to the public 24/7.