Artistic dynasties of contemporary Māori art feature in landmark Auckland exhibition
Friday, 4 December 2020
Dynasties of Māori artists will take centre stage in a historic art exhibition that's 20 years overdue and has taken four years to put together.
E karapinepine mai ana ngā whakapapa tohunga toi Māori ki te whakaaturanga toi o nehe, kua aua atu i te 20 tau e tāria ana, ā, neke atu i te whā tau e waihangahia ana.
Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, a free exhibition launching on December 5, is the largest Auckland Art Gallery has staged in its 132-year history, and the first of its kind for Māori art in two decades.
Ko Toi Tū Toi Ora: He Toi Māori Hou, ā, he whakaaturanga koreutu ka rewaina i te 5 o Hakihea. Koinei te whakaaturanga nui rawa kua tū ki Toi Tāmaki mō te 132 tau o tōna oranga, ā, koianei tō rātou whakaaturanga toi Māori tuatahi i roto i te rua tekau tau.
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The last large survey exhibition of contemporary Māori art featured 25 artists. This time, it will feature 111.
E 25 ngā tohunga toi i tērā o ngā whakaaturanga. I tēnei, 111 te huhua.
But even more significant is that the pieces featured in the 300-piece collection is work from artistic dynasties that have shaped the scene of contemporary Māori art for decades.
Heoi, ko te mea tāpua anō, ko ngā taonga o te kohinga 300, ka ahu mai i ngā aho whakapapa tohunga toi Māori, nā rātou i ahuahu te toi Māori i roto i ngā tekau tau kua pahure.
There’s work from father and son sculptures Fred and Brett Graham, as well as pieces from ceramicist Wi Taepa and his sons Ngataihaururu Taepa and Kereama Taepa.
Ko ētahi o ngā mahi i ahu mai i ngā ringa whao, a Fred rāua ko tana tama a Brett Graham, ā, ko ētahi, nā ngā kaiwhakairo uku a Wi Taepa rātou ko āna tama a Ngātaiharuru rāua ko Kereama Taepa.
Mother-daughter weavers, Matekino Lawless and Christina Hurihia Wirihana are also featured.
Ka whakaatuhia hoki ngā mahi a Matekino Lawless rāua ko tana tamāhine a Christine Hurihia Wirihana.
Brett Graham, whose sculptures examine indigenous experiences of the colonial process and emphasises relationships between Māori and other colonised cultures, will exhibit a number of pieces.
Otirā, ko ngā mahi toi a Brett Graham ērā ka wetewete i te tukinga o ngā tāngata whenua ki a tauiwi, me te whakaū i te ariā me whai hononga te Māori ki ērā ahurea i taipūwhenuahia.
Some of his works reference the major tsunami that hit the Pacific in 2009, and the Urewera raids.
Ko ētahi o āna mahi ka pā ki te tai āniwhaniwha i pā ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa i te tau 2009, me ngā urutomo ki roto o Te Urewera.
He said: “The public have a narrow view of what Māori art is and I hope this expands on that.
Ko tāna: “He tino whāiti te titiro a te marea ki te toi Māori, ā, mā tēnei pea ka whānui ake te titiro.
“We talk about the contemporary movement but the next generation coming through are creating incredible work and not just using traditional media, like carving and weaving, but exploring new materials.”
“Ka kōrero nei tātou mō te ao hou engari ko te rangatahi tēnei e piki mai nei, e hanga mai nei i ngā mahinga mīharo, kaua noa iho i ngā toi tūturu o te whakairo me te raranga, engari i ngā hangarau hou hoki.”
“We hope the public get how strong the work is and how innovative it is as well.”
“Ko te manako kia kite te marea i te mana o ngā mahi me te wairua auaha o roto.”
Curator Nigel Borell said the work put into making the exhibition happen was challenging, including restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, but he was excited to see it all come together.
E ai ki te Poukaiāwhā o te whare, a Nigel Borell, he tino wero te whakatinana haere i te whakaaturanga, nā te urutā huaketo korona, me ngā noho rāhui o muri. Heoi, e hīkaka ana te manawa ki tōna puāwaitanga.
“This moment feels timely and essential,” Borell said.
“E rongo ana te wairua, he tānga manawa tēnei,” te kī a Borell.
“It will stimulate critical discussion about the place of contemporary Māori art while also presenting an occasion to celebrate its vitality and uniqueness.”
“Mā tēnei hei whakaoreore i ngā arohaehae mō te wāhi ki te toi Māori hou, me te whai wā hoki ki te whakanui i tōna hihiri me tōna motuhaketanga hoki.”
Toi Tū Toi Ora will include artworks from the 1950s through to the present day, offering insights into the development of contemporary Māori art, informed by a Māori perspective and world view.
E whakaaturia ana ki Toi Tū Toi Ora, ko ngā mahinga toi mai i te tekau tau atu i 1950, ki ēnei rā, ka mutu, he hīnātore ki te whanaketanga o te toi Māori o mohoa nei, mai i te tirohanga ao Māori.
The exhibition presents both an aspiration and a challenge to realise a future in which contemporary Māori art continues to stand tall – toi tū – and healthy – toi ora– while reinforcing the wisdom and ideas that empower Māori and indigenous ways of knowing.
Ko ētahi whakakitenga o te whakaaturanga ko ngā aupiki me ngā auheke e whai mārama ake ai te anamata o te ao toi Māori hou, kia toi tū – kia toi ora – kia whakapūmautia te māramatanga me ngā ariā mana ā te iwi Māori me te mātauranga taketake.
It features a vast range of contemporary Māori art, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, clay-making, jewellery, photography, digital media, film and installation art.
Ka whai hiranga hoki ki te whakaaturanga, ko ngā tūmomo toi Māori hou katoa, pēnei i ngā peita, ngā mahi whao, ngā mahi tā, ngā mahi uku, ngā whakarākei, ngā tango whakaahua, ngā pāpāho tuihono, ngā kiriata tae atu ki ngā toi whakatūranga.
Borell said he often asked himself why it had taken so long to hold an exhibition celebrating Māori art again, but believes this year’s timing is perfect.
E ai ki a Borell he rite tonu te ui o te hinengaro mō te take he aha i pēnei ai te roa o te whakatū anō i te whakaaturanga whakanui i te toi Māori. Ahakoa rā, ka whakapono ia ko te wā tika tēnei.
“This year has been mad for everyone and for the industry, it’s been an opportunity to reset and think locally of the importance of our own history.”
“Whea rorirori kē tēnei tau mō te ahumahi katoa, engari he wā hou anō kia whai whakaaro tātou ki te nui whakaharahara o tō tātou hītori.”
Toi Tū Toi Ora will include new, specially commissioned artworks, including an interactive exhibition in the gallery’s family-friendly Creative Learning Centre, by Auckland-based artist Charlotte Graham, and a new installation by Ana Iti on the gallery’s exterior sculpture terrace, connecting the gallery with nearby Albert Park.
E whai wāhi ana hoki ki Toi Tū Toi Ora, ko ētahi toi i tonoa motuhakengia, pēnei i te wakaaturanga taunekeneke a te tohunga toi o Tāmaki-makaurau, a Charlotte Graham, e whakaaria ana ki te wāhanga whānau o te taiwhanga, arā, ki te Pūtahi Ako Auaha, me te whakatūranga hou a Ana Iti, ka tū ki te papa whao ā-waho o te taiwhanga e hono atu ana ki te Whenua Rāhui o Albert.
A major new work by painter and sculptor Reuben Paterson will also be installed in the gallery’s forecourt pool next year.
Hei te tau titoki kua whakatūhia te mahinga nui a te kaipeita me te ringa whao a Reuben Paterson ki te hōpua o te mahau o te taiwhanga.
Auckland Art Gallery director Kirsten Paisley said the ambitious intergenerational exhibition would celebrate the dynamic and changing expression of contemporary Māori art.
E ai ki te kaiwhakahaere o Toi Tāmaki a Kirsten Paisley, mā te whakaatu i ngā toi a ngā reanga whakapapa tohunga toi, ka whakatairangahia ngā takahuringa o te toi Māori.
“[It’s] monumental in its storytelling and its scale and speaks to the very core of the gallery’s purpose as a bicultural place for the championing of New Zealand art.”
He kāmehameha ōna kōrero tuku iho, tōna whānui. He tohu tēnei ki te tino kaupapa ake o te taiwhanga, arā, kia noho hei taiao kākano-rua mō te whakaihuwaka i ngā toi o Aotearoa.”
Exhibition details:
When: Saturday 5 December to May 2021, 10am – 5pm daily except Christmas Day.
Where: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Corner Kitchener and Wellesley streets, Auckland.
Admission: Free for New Zealand residents and gallery members.
Te reo Māori translation courtesy of Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission