The Papatoetoe & District Returned Services Association (RSA) building on the corner of Wallace Road and St George Street is a brightly striped beacon that immediately gets people's attention. The site encompasses the Papatoetoe RSA and Papatoetoe War Memorial Library, as well as Burnside Park, which is home to the building. This public art project was proposed by Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board in 2012, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Papatoetoe becoming a district.

Regan Gentry covered the outside of the building with a series of powder-coated aluminium stripes, in the colours and combinations of military service medal ribbons that were awarded to the men and women who served New Zealand – a metal strip at the bottom is embossed with wording that names the various medals and campaigns. He also created raised gardens, paths and bright red bench seating that surrounds significant trees and the RSA building itself. Gentry redesigned the green space to allow easier access and use by pedestrians and the community. Local community groups were involved during the process, including members of the RSA who advised on the final title, *Learning Your Stripes*, a reference to earning your stripes.

*Learning Your Stripes* was the first in a series of Ōtara-Papatoetoe Heritage Trail projects and is one of three artworks in the area.

Learning Your Stripes

Running from the Tāmaki Bridge via Hunters Corner and old Papatoetoe to Kohuora Park, these heritage markers commemorate Papatoetoe's history.

Artist Denis O'Connor's inspiration for the triangular markers, rectangular interpretation blocks, and milepost artworks, was the original set of tōtara mileposts that were installed along the main route south between Auckland and Drury in 1863.

His designs honour the original mileposts by referencing their triangular shape. The use of bluestone is a nod to the 'blue chip' formerly used to surface the local roads. A special toetoe motif acknowledges the cultural and historical significance of this plant in the area, and the typeface used reflects back to the time when Papatoetoe began to develop as a commercial hub around the 1920s. The design spans the decades between the 1860s and today, referencing key elements and events in the development of the community.

Toetoe Dreaming

At the Southern Motorway's East Tamaki off-ramp, a va'a or waka (canoe) marks the entrance to the South Auckland suburb of Ōtara. But this is no ordinary canoe, it's an upended boat standing tall and painted blood-red. The work, by Samoan-born, New Zealand-based artist Fatu Feu'u, was purchased by Ōtara Community Board in 2011, and is a fitting welcome to the neighbourhood, which has a high proportion of Pacific Island residents.  Traditional Pacific symbols feature on the va'a. A frangipani carved into the wood and painted yellow represents the flowers of siapo or tapa cloth, and traditional linear Samoan patterns are etched into the front of the five-metre high artwork.

This sculpture reflects the spiritual and cultural identity of the Samoan people, which is also found in the paintings, woodcuts and lithographs Feu'u is more commonly known for. The red of the sculpture is the colour associated with chiefs in Pacific cultures and the yellow of the flower is the colour used to signify orator status in Samoa. Both are titles Feu'u has been honoured with in his homeland.



"In my culture," Feu'u told *Art New Zealand*, "values are expressed in various forms, religious and traditional. Fa'asamoa values are manifested in the conventions of ava (respect), fa'aloalo (reverence) and alof'a (love compassion and concern). They form the basis of the spiritual and cultural identity of the Samoan people."

Untitled

Colours of the rainbow are cast onto the stairwell of a central Manukau car park, adorning seven floors of grey, utilitarian space with an interactive display. *Me Rongo / Walk in Rainbows* is a collaboration between Reuben Paterson, one of New Zealand's most dynamic contemporary artists, and Taranaki-based prism maker Walter Foott. Together they developed a giant curtain of hand-cast prisms, using geometry and natural light to enhance the car park's stairwells in a vibrant rainbow.

As well as beautifying the space, the artwork has a functional purpose. Each of the carpark's seven floors has its own theme colour, becoming a subtle wayfinder for those who walk up the stairs.

While the rainbow has long been seen as a symbol of joy and good fortune, it has more recently become representative of inclusion and unconditional love. *Me Rongo / Walk in Rainbows* helps to brighten up the space with another rainbow-inspired artwork from Lonnie Hutchinson, called [*I Love You / Aroha atu, Aroha mai*](/artworks/3918). Together they are known as *Night and Day*, with Hutchinson's neon installation representing the night and Paterson’s honouring the day.

Regan Gentry

Learning Your Stripes

"Bright stripes of colour decorate the outside walls of the Papatoetoe RSA, in remembrance of the men and women who served New Zealand."

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