Exhibition Date:
28th June – 27th July 2018
Featured Artists:
Tim Steel (Ngai Tahu, Pakeha), Kauri Hawkins (Ngai Tamanuhiri, Ngati Porou), Jamie Ani Eritana Berry, Pikihuia Haenga, Paretapu Teira.
When the Pleiades constellation rises in the north-eastern sky it signifies Matariki, the Māori new year. During this time, crops are harvested and sown, and whānau come together to remember the past and those gone, and to look towards what lies ahead. Matariki is a time of new beginnings, ‘He Timatanga Hou’. This exhibition is to celebrate and acknowledge the artistic tributes and talents of a new generation of contemporary Māori artists. By supporting our emerging artists we are not only acknowledging our Tīpuna but as a collective, giving strength to mahi toi through the exciting and diverse range of works presented in this exhibition.
Exhibiting works by the following contributing artists, Tim Steel, Kauri Hawkins, Paretapu Teira, Pikihuia Haenga and Jamie Berry.
Tim Steel
Tim is an international award winning artist carving in a contemporary-traditional style. He was raised in the coastal town of Pukerua Bay & is of Pakeha and Ngai Tahu descent.
From his studio space in Waipawa, Tim creates small sculptures and jewellery from hard stone and specializes in Pounamu and Onewa. His inspiration is derived from taonga/artifacts and aesthetics of urban and natural Aotearoa.
These images are of work Tim currently has on show & available for purchase. His urban Manaia & Pekapeka look at Re imagining the taonga of our Tīpuna to reflect the squareness of modern urban construct & the beautiful tāniko forms are part of a series of work inspired by the tāniko pattern Aronui, the pursuit of knowledge about the natural world.
You can find out more about Tim & his mahi at Tim Steel – Sculpture / Body Adornment or Instagram: @timsteelstone
Kauri Hawkins
Kauri is a young emerging Māori Artist who has recently graduated from Massey University’s School of Fine Arts in Wellington. Receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2017, Kauri has shown throughout the Wellington region and internationally at the first Hobiennale in Hobart Tasmania, November 2017. Kauri is from Muriwai, Turanganui-a-Kiwa and has tribal affiliations to Ngai Tamanuhiri and Ngati Porou.
He is also from the Island of Aitiutaki in the Cook Islands.
Kauri is a sculptor, painter, film maker and performance artist whose work comments on contemporary New Zealand issues through a Māori lense. He is at the beginning of his career but has been included in shows with many leading artists in New Zealand like Robert Jahnke, Ngatai Taepa, Robyn Kahukiwa, John Walsh and many others.
As an artist Kauri hopes to represent New Zealand on an International stage bringing out both positive and negative aspects of New Zealand life through his art work.
These three works represent the three core values (he believes) make you Māori in the twenty-first century. Aptly named after these values the works use Road signs as a canvas to allude to the realities of the urban environment covering Māori whenua.
Find out more about Kauri & his mahi at www.bro-casted.com
Paretapu Teira
Aniwaniwa te pō
Aniwaniwa te ao
Tīhewa te maurī ora
Tū mai ko Kaha
Tū mai ko Pohurihanga
Whangape, Pawarenga, te rua kōiwi
Ka tū a Ngāti Hauā i runga o Rangiputa
Whakatika atu rā ki Ōngaro, Te Uri o Tai
Nei rā Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri e
Born & raised in Auckland, I was nurtured in the practices and protocols of my tupuna & can say that there is really only one thing that I find missing from what makes my life perfection, that is, the pillars of my home, the tupuna of my whare, the carvings of my meeting houses.
These pieces on display are part of a large body of work I hope one day to adorn my whare in the north. My goal is to inspire my people and breathe life back into the art of pūrākau in our whare. Noaia and Ahupiri were both high ranked rangatira nurtured from an early age to ensure political stability among the people. They played a crucial role in governing ngā iwi Māori before the arrival of the Crown and its rule through legislation.
Paretapu Teira Penetito Waru is my name & I come from the strong roots of Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa & Te Aupōuri. I am currently in my final year of my Degree in Contemporary Māori Art at Toimairangi under Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. The opportunity to extend my passion for Mātauranga Māori through visual arts has been an enlightening vehicle for enhancing the expanding wealth of knowledge I hold. These practices both go hand in hand and it has been my pleasure gaining more and more skills to portray these thoughts, ideas & traditional practises.
You can find out more about Paretapu & her mahi at pwaru.portfoliobox.net
Jamie Ani Eritana Berry & Pikihuia Haenga
Jamie is a Multidisciplinary Artist who explores her DNA & identity through visual projection, soundscape and installation. She is a devoted aunty to 16 tamariki who are her main motivation to assist in building a brighter future for our next generation & the many to come. Originally from Turanganui a kiwa, Jamie based in Poneke draws inspiration from both locations, Tairawhiti will always be home, a space to gather source from whānau, papatuanuku, wai. During the day both Jamie & Pikihuia work for Core Digital, creating digital content for the Education sector.
Pikihuia has produced several works using video and audio as a medium to document & to bring issues affecting the environment & local communities to light, the focus will often tease out Māori representation, more specifically wāhine Māori. Other major influencing drivers that draw Piki in to video installations are to explore relationships between the kaupapa that brings the person, object or subject, to interact with the filmmaker, under the circumstances & in the environment.
For Pikihuia three good starting points will often be; Positive influences, colour & music. Piki sees the projection of sound & of images on to surfaces & objects as an exciting, impactful way to occupy & add a unique augmented experience to a space.
Invited to exhibit in “Strength in Visions” Fringe festival Melbourne 2017, the concept ‘Karanga’ came from the curator of the show who was an ex pat Māori wāhine from Aotearoa & us as a collaborative acknowledging those children of the diaspora, in particular the diasporas of Aotearoa & Moana Nui a Kiwa, who have settled in Australia. Calling to them from across the sea.
The audio content in ‘Karanga’ is based on Jamie’s DNA chromosome sequence coded to indigenous Instruments that Jamie has whakapapa back too, layered with natural elements & the powerful Karanga call, the soundscape is the first and one of Jamie’s favourite parts of the creative process, created as if you are traveling to and from the past to the present/future ‘The sound of ancestors being present gives a direct connection to our wairua. The visual content is then driven and guided by the narrative of the soundscape. Acknowledgement of tupuna, papatuanuku, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, the present moment and utilising that time grounding healthy seeds for our future DNA holders.
’Karanga’ is a collaborative project with work from Pikihuia Haenga, Leala Faleseuga & Jamie Berry. Featuring mana wahine from our whānau and collectives from around Aotearoa. Witnessing wāhine in their talents thriving is the best part of the collaborative process, as well as revealing the end result of all that energy and goodness.
You can find out more about Pikihuia & Jamie by checking out their websites www.pikihuia.com & jamieberrysweet.tumblr.com/
The Gallery
Toi Māori Gallery:
Currently closed due to temporary building work
Gallery open:
Currently closed due to temporary building work
Other Exhibitions
