The sea is imagined with a luminous, green—a hue that the artist attributes to sunlight filtering through kelp forests, phytoplankton blooms, and the reflection of the surrounding hills. This jade expanse becomes a character itself in indigenous stories that weave through the narrative, honoring the Māori reverence for the river as a *taonga* (treasure) and a pathway between worlds.
Blending ecology, myth, and meditative prose, the artist invites viewers to ponder humanity’s fragile bond with nature. It is both a love letter to Waikamari’s untamed beauty and a quiet plea to preserve its rhythms in an age of change. In the painting, the river’s whisper lingers: a reminder that some wonders are too sacred to silence.
© Osman Mia