Since he was a teenager working on restoring kowhaiwhai panels, Taepa has been committed to preserving and giving new life to traditional practices through his artwork. For over twelve years he has focused almost exclusively on kowhaiwhai patterns in his work. Taepa uses western techniques to interpret customary forms. He takes the intricate, interlacing patterns characteristic of customary kowhaiwhai designs and gives them a fresh contemporary interpretation introducing unexpected materials, techniques and colour combinations. Taepa experiments with twenty-first century technologies – computer-generated imagery, digital routers, acrylic laminates, stencils on PVC pipes and steel, and digitally carved treated plywood to create his meticulously crafted work.

This work has been machine carved in untreated plywood. Ngatai has left the work untreated to allow the work to age naturally. While there is no concern for change in condition from an archival perspective, he does anticipate that the works will have very minor changes in colour. He relates these changes to the aging of the subject of the works – his son, Maungapohatu.

As well as continuing an art practice Ngatai Taepa is the Director of Māori Arts, Massey University, Palmerston North.