Summary

Moana Legacy, curated by Cora-Allan Wickcliffe, was Tautai’s first exhibition in its new gallery space, the show was developed from an existing partnership with Blak Dot Gallery, Naarm (Melbourne) featuring Tagata Moana artists working in both Aotearoa and Australia. Continuing the conversation in Tautai’s new expanded space in the heart of Auckland, this show offers up assorted approaches to the idea of legacy.

Ahsin Ahsin, *Amphora*, 2020 (installation view)

Cora-Allan Wickliffe, 'Our last supper with you revised', 2020 (installation view)

Talia Smith, 'Surfacing', 2020 (installation view)

Israel Randell, 'Āke, ake, ake' (whakareretanga), 2020 (installation view)

Gina Rophia, 'Ka ora ai te iwi', 2020 (installation view)

Mereani Qalovakawasa, 'My Life With Lupus', 2020 (installation view)

Naawie Tutugoro, 'come make my dreams', 2020 (installation view)

Rangituhia Hollis, 'Across the Face of the Moon', 2020 (installation view)

As artists of the moana, one often looks back to move forward, contemplating the connections to ancestors and finding a place within a narrative that is as deep as the ocean itself. Our ancestors left behind stories of legend with impressive characters, some continue to shape our contemporary stories of today.

A legacy is the story of someone’s life, it is something that a person leaves behind to be remembered. Legacies are pathways that guide people with their own decision-making – inspiring them to build a legacy of their own.

With this in mind, the artists in this exhibition investigate notions of legacy and their link to the moana. Featuring photography, installation, video, sculpture, hiapo and painting, Moana Legacy is a celebration of our own legacies and what it means to be an artist of the Pacific.