Ko Whangaroa te moana

Ko Emiemi te maunga

Ko Pupuke te awa

Ko Maatatua te waka

Ko Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa te iwi

Ko Tahaawai te hapu

Ko Tahaawai te marae

No te whanau Toetoe o Rataroa

Ko Pupuke te kainga

He uri au o Hongi Hika

Ko Yazma Smith au

I am of Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa and Ngati Hine descent, hapu of the great northern empire of Nga Puhi.

My Pakeha ancestry is of Scottish extraction however it is my identity as Tangata whenua that bind me to this time, place and space.

Born and raised in South Auckland, Mangere my talent for the arts were identified at an early age and at Mangere College I was encouraged to pursue a professional career in the visual arts.

In 1994 I was accepted to Elam, school of Fine Arts where I gained technical and contextual experience and knowlegde.

However, I found the fine art tradition too conformist and conventional for my creative needs, deciding to leave in 1996 – swapping the lecture theatres, for life experience outside of the classroom setting.  

After traveling the length and breadth of NZ, determined to experience my own country I decided to return to Universtiy, completing my Bachelors of Visual Arts in 2004.

In 2006 the opportunity to return to my ancestral homeland of Whangaroa arose. With a young family of my own to raise the thought of escaping the demands and pressures of my urban reality were tremendous.

I took the opportunity for a new life experience in my ancestral homeland and ran with it. Enabling me to reconnect with whenua (land), moana (sea), whanaunga (relatives), whakapapa (geneology) and tupuna (ancestors). 

Since then my visual art practice has become my lifes full time passion.

As a practicing studio artist and kaiako (tutor) of contemporary Maori Visual Art, my creative process informs and empowers my cultural identity as tangata whenua and mana wahine.