These beings (sculptures, golems) are difficult to describe—think Greco-Roman mausoleum reliefs in the style of Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz. Like the walls around them, they are shinier for being fleeting (doomed), their fates bound to the makeshift temple they’ve manifested in, appearing as if called or conjured by the tolling of a bell only they can hear.”

—Sam Te Kani (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou), ‘Veiled Optimism’, Metro Summer, 2026