Keelin Bell: A Word with Massive's Te Ao Māori Illustrator

Almost 20 minutes after the interview was meant to start, Massive’s beloved Te Ao Māori illustrator, Keelin Bell, came tumbling out of the elevator to join me.  

Breathless and juggling a tripod, a bag of camera equipment and another bag overflowing with blankets, Keelin was incredibly apologetic for the holdup. It was hard to stay mad at him, especially since I know just how jam-packed his schedule is (and he bought me a Snickers bar to make up for it, which helped a little bit).  

Keelin is caught in the peak of crunch time for most Creative Arts students, whilst also maintaining the illustrative work he completes for Massive each week and dedicating at least an hour each day to his personal art projects. Add on everything else humans have to do in order to stay alive, and the man stays booked and busy. The workload he carries is confirmed when he drops “I got 4 shoots done today, 4 different locations” as he slumps in the chair opposite me.  

So, I can’t help but apologise to the man sitting before me, stretching in his brand new, fresh as fuck Massive merch hoodie, for taking up time in his full to the brim schedule. But he shrugs me off, saying “Nah, we planned this way ahead of time, and I’m good at going on tangents.”  

And tangent he did. 

Despite holding and being confident in the title of ‘illustrator’, Keelin majors in photography, which was an entirely new medium to him initially. Out of the three art forms offered at his high school, photography was the one Keelin had the least experience with. It was one of his teachers who encouraged him to pursue photography to a higher degree, to which Keelin initially went “But I'm an illustrator”.  

Keelin’s proficiency in illustration has led to some conflict over the course of his learning experience as “coming from an illustrative background, it’s kind of tough to translate visions into a medium that’s built in the real world”. But looking at where photography has taken him to and the opportunities it offers, Keelin firmly nods that “overall, it was a good thing”. 

At this point in our conversation, I interrupt with the sudden remembrance of Keelin’s exhibition that he and his friends have been working towards. The exhibition, Takarangi, will open its doors to the public on the 27th of September until the 1st of October.  

Keelin clarifies that Takarangi will be his second exhibition this year and is one that he and his friends have been hoping to do together for a few years, almost since the beginning of their studies. “We’re all urban Māori, so it’s good we all have the chance to reconnect with our Māoritanga. Our respective mediums allow us this chance, and give us the opportunity to reconnect with our whakapapa as well.” 

By this point, I’ve long since finished my half of the Snickers bar (I felt bad and split it in two to share with Keelin). I ask Keelin how it feels to be the first official Te Ao Māori illustrator not just for Massive, but for any student-led magazine. He turns to me, solemn and serious, and takes a breath. 

“It is an honour.” 

Then he lets out a quick little laugh and gives me his actual answer. 

“Nah but seriously, Massive is built from the ground up, and has been building to this position for a while now. Past Māori illustrators, like Sara Moana, and our previous editor Cameron pushed for it and paved the way.”

While drawing for Massive, Keelin has churned out banger after banger. I personally feel that his illustrations are easily the best part of my articles. Keelin feels that the first week’s centrefold is his favourite piece he’s completed for Massive.

This was an illustration of freshers out in town for O-Week, standing outside Night ‘n Day. To Keelin, that “first issue was when ideas really started flowing because it was all so fresh and new”. It also gave him a chance to revisit his first-year memories. Thinking back on that centrefold, Keelin sat back before letting out a pleased “man, I was on the gas that week.” 

But outside of his work for university and Massive, what would Keelin call his pride and joy? 

“The children’s book I illustrated in first year. Haven’t topped that one yet.” 

The book is called Nuku’s Toki, and it’s about collecting toki, or argillite, at the top of the South Island. Nuku’s Toki is especially close to Keelin’s heart, “Coming to uni, my big dream was to illustrate some kind of book. But then I did it in my first year, so I had to pick a new dream.” Keelin is currently revisiting the children’s book, doing a complete redraw for a new author. 

This nice full circle moment feels like a good place to wrap up our conversation, and before we head in our separate directions, I ask Keelin what he’s got going on tomorrow. As I could’ve guessed, the list of activities he rattles off seems long and exhaustive and as though they’ll never end, at least to my ears. But while I grimace and wince at his schedule, Keelin seems entirely unfazed. He just gathers his equipment and heads out to the next thing planned, undoubtedly forging a path for future Māori illustrators to follow as he does so.