Māori artists draw upon ancestral homeland of Hawaiki in new exhibition at Tautai Gallery
Photo by Lanae Cable
“Tupu te toi, ora te toi, whanake te toi, te toi i ahu mai i Hawaiki nui, Hawaiki roa, Hawaiki pāmamao” – Kingi Tawhiao
“Grow the treasure, sustain the treasure, develop the treasure, the treasure that stems from great Hawaiki, long Hawaiki, far Hawaiki.”
Toitū Te Moana, a new exhibition opening Saturday 16 April at Tautai Pacific Contemporary Arts Trust, presents new work by Maia Wharewera-Ballard and Te Ao Hinekou Mihaere Wharewera (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pukeko, Te Whānau-Ā-Apanui, Ngāti toa); Atareta Black (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani); Lanae Cable (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko, Ngāti Maru ki Hauraki, Tūhoe); Te Ara Minhinnick (Ngāti Te Ata); Kahurangiariki Smith (Te Arawa, Tainui, Takitimu, Horouta and Mataatua); and Hōhua Thompson (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Patuwhare, Patukoraha, Ngāi Tamawera).
Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland, is the beginning point for Toitū Te Moana, and the place from which the artists’ mātauranga, their knowledge, descends.
These artists engage with ngā taonga tuku iho via a range of media from uku, harakeke, and whenua to plastic, performance, moving image and wānanga. Coming together to work collaboratively for Toitū Te Moana, they bring together our own whakapapa, embodied knowledge, and experiences to reflect upon shared histories within Aotearoa and beyond, to Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
In a collective artist statement, they say, “By making mahi toi we embody the mātauranga of our tūpuna. It is what connects us to the waters of Te Moana-nui, to each other as Tangata Whenua and further as Tangata Moana. Much like our tūpuna traveling across the moana, the artists travelled from their respective kāinga to meet together ā tinana at Tautai. Finally bringing the mahi together in the space to retrace, remember and rejoin our whakapapa as Māori, as Tangata Moana.”
Tautai Director Courtney Sina Meredith says, “We are making history together with Toitū Te Moana; this is the first show at Tautai that features all Māori artists. Reflecting on shared histories, from here and back to Hawaiki, Toitū Te Moana will be a transformative exhibition experience. We are honoured to welcome our extended aiga home.”
Toitū Te Moana will be presented at Tautai Gallery from Saturday 16 April until Saturday 4 June 2022.
Exhibition details:
Toitū Te Moana
Maia Wharewera-Ballard and Te Ao Hinekou Mihaere Wharewera, Atareta Black, Lanae Cable, Te Ara Minhinnick, Kahurangiariki Smith and Hōhua Thompson.
Saturday 16 April – Saturday 4 June 2022
Tautai Gallery, Level 1, 300 Karangahape Road, Auckland Central
Open 10am–4pm, Tuesday–Friday | 11am – 4pm, Saturdays