MATCH: Coco Solid

Decolonising the World Through Pop Culture.

Writer, musician and visual artist Coco Solid is Jessica Hansell, a Māori/Sāmoan/German artist from Auckland.

Hansell started out making her own zines/comics and musically came up through underground punk and rap. She went on to form groups Parallel Dance Ensemble (Permanent Vacation, Germany), Badd Energy (Flying Nun, NZ) and 9-member rap collective Fanau Spa. Hansell also runs projects like Kuini Qontrol (an online hub for podcasts, music and club nights) and Equalise My Vocals (amplifying creative women, LGBTQI and decolonising voices in the Pacific).

Working in kaupapa-driven film and television, Hansell created ‘Aroha Bridge’ due mid 2019 and is the first woman to direct and write an adult cartoon in New Zealand for network television. She is part of Piki Films, a small group of Māori/Pasifika screenwriters hand-picked by film-maker Taika Waititi. Hansell also has a background in literature and journalism and recently returned from her Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Hawai’i. She is currently finishing her debut novel for publication in 2020.

Coco Solid will present a kōrero exploring the importance of indigenous storytelling and creating new archetypes, and what a resource our artistic rangatahi are.

Aroha Bridge is an animated snapshot of the multicultural melting pot that is Aotearoa.

Focusing on authentic, urban Māori characters with humour and style, this webseries follows Kōwhai and Monty Hook as they navigate the complex but hilarious circumstances growing up in a bicultural, eclectic whānau.

Tickets are $6 and available from iticket.co.nz, rangatahi are free.

About M.A.T.C.H – Korakora Matihiko
Māoriland Charitable Trust has created M.A.T.C.H to enable and mentor our rangatahi to be leaders in the creative tech industry.

Korakora Matihiko is a two week expo with Indigenous games, indigenous games, animation, vr & 360 and comics including rangatahi workshops and public kōrero.

M.A.T.C.H – Māoriland’s tech creative hub will put new technology in the hands of our rangatahi.

Special guests include:
May 18 – Kuruho Wereta and Rosie Remmerswaal from Kaupapa (Game, Aotearoa).
May 22 – Gabo Arora (Leading VR creative, New York)
May 23 – Coco Solid (Animation, Aotearoa)
May 29 – 30 – Indigihack (Coding, Australia)

M.A.T.C.H runs from May 17 – June 1 at the Māoriland Hub.

Opening hours (By koha):
Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday 10 am – 3 pm

School visits by appointment, contact match@maorilandfilm.co.nz for info.