Kia Ora,

I'm Noel, and I run Matarau, based in Palmerston North, Aotearoa. My practice began in the margins of my school workbooks, filling them with drawings instead of notes. However, it hasn't stayed confined within those pages, that creative narrative has since grown to include photography, videography, brand and design, illustration, campaign and narrative strategy, and cultural advisory.

All of it moves through the same lens. Mātauranga Māori is the foundation of how I work, it guides every decision and direction I take.

Working across many different kaupapa, and utilising many different mediums along the way, taught me something a single project never could: a photograph is a moment, a logo is a mark, a campaign is a season. Each one says something on its own. But none of them last the way a narrative lasts. A story built across mediums, image, design, film, language, doesn't just describe a kaupapa, it carries it. That's the shift I push every project toward: not the strong single image, but the fuller story, built to hold for generations.

Establish the whakapapa | Build the story | Embrace the narrative