Whakapuakitanga
Te Roopu Tautoko Trust, New Zealand, 1993
This poster from New Zealand advertises a support group for
young Māori gay and bisexual men. Māori people are the indigenous
inhabitants of New Zealand, and this poster uses imagery of
historical Māori significance: not only the images of figures and
carving, but also the colours black and red, which are widely used
in Māori art and ritual artefacts.
The word Whakapuakitanga in Māori means
'expression' or 'utterance', and the name suggests that expression
of one's traditional or cultural identity is not necessarily
incompatible with expression of one's sexuality. The
Māori word 'takatāpui' which appears on this poster means
gay in its modern usage.