Eyes on the Future: Māori tā moko artist x Specsavers 2024

For a second year now, Māori tā moko artist Mokonuiarangi Smith has partnered with Specsavers to release a limited-edition collection in partnership with The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ to help prevent avoidable blindness across the Pacific.

In 2016 and 2019, Specsavers’ first limited-edition frames featured the work of artist Dick Frizell. These were followed by limited-edition collections showcasing the abstract paintings of Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u in 2020 and 2022. Building on the success of the first collaboration with Mokonuiarangi Smith in 2023, this years’ collaboration draws inspiration from the relationship to Pounamu, a stone that holds a special place in Māori culture.

The collection is designed extremely uniquely drawing on Maori culture. The taratara notching (a traditional carving pattern) on the temple represents the past, present, and future generations, connecting them to ancient Māori navigators who explored the Pacific. The Karu o te Whenua pattern highlights the importance of cultural traditions and Specsavers' role in promoting eye health in Māori communities. The lens cloth and case feature the Pūhoro pattern (a swirling, spiral design often associated with ancestral journeys), symbolising the long journeys Māori ancestors took across the Pacific Ocean to settle in Aotearoa. The eyewear also references Pounamu, which Māori ancestors used for carving tools and jewellery.

In the last 10 years, Specsavers has donated over $1.3 million to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ with The Foundation directing these funds towards the Pacific Eye Institute and Mobile Eye Clinic in Fiji. With $25 from the sale of each limited-edition frame going to The Foundation, Specsavers hopes to raise a further $60,000 this year to support their important work.

Specsavers Optometrists & Audiology // Westfield, 277 Broadway

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