Te Whare Pora embodies a house of learning and is customarily a space for obtaining knowledge pertaining to fibre arts, primarily weaving. The atua of Te Whare Pora is Hineteiwaiwa who holds authority over the arts pursued by women. We understand Te Whare Pora to be a state of being as oppossed to a physical location.
In our work Te Whare Pora the faux mink blanket is employed as a vehicle to explore customary notions of wānanga, contemporary marae styles and women's experiences. The faux mink blanket speaks of a kitsch aesthetic reminiscent of velvet paintings, once popular for their renditions of the dusky maiden. Now common on marae throughout the country, the 'minkie' has come to represent warm, plush beds within the wharenui. These blankets also act as a commentary of the current day economy; they are manufactured off-shore using synthetic materials and cater to specific markets by using identifiable kowhaiwhai patterns and the tino rangatiratanga flag.
Exhibitions:
2017 Making Space, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch NZ
2014 We who live in darkness, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington NZ
2013 Pūwawao, Aratoi, Masterton NZ
2013 Old Hall Gigs, Wellington NZ
2013 Te Whare Pora Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington NZ
Kaokao is a large-scale installation that has been made by the many hands of Mata Aho Collective using industrial material to reflect and highlight the following whakataukī:
He wāhine, he whenua, ka ngaro te tangata. Without women and without land, humanity is lost.
Kaokao is a tukutuku pattern synonymous with strength, associated with both a birthing stance and a warriors stance. It is also reminisent of a military chevron used to decorate the sleeves of soldiers. Customarily although not specifically portrayed as a female art form, tukutuku are made by two people working together.
With these aspects in mind, our collective of four Māori women have chosen Kaokao as both the literal and conceptual basis to explore the portrayal of women within Māori and non-Māori wartime histories. Inspired by the 100 year commemorations of WWI, we as artists and women find history to be a site of contention and aim to expose its biases whilst portraying a desire for a restorative balance. Our work acknowledges the many wāhine who have stood in front, alongside and behind their contemporaries to care and protect their whenua and whānau.
Ki te mate ngā tane, me mate anō ngā wāhine me ngā tamariki hoki. If the men die, so too do the women and children. - Ahumai Te Paerata in the 1864 Battle of Ōrakau.
Exhibitions
2015 Disrupting the Narrative Thistle Hall, Wellington NZ
2014 International Artist Initiated, David Dale Gallery, Glasgow UK
2014 Kaokao Toi Pōneke Arts Centre, Wellington NZ
Pare Kawakawa are worn by mourners who are grieving for those who have passed. This embroidery project provides a space to share a weight carried, as participants learn or teach sewing techniques whilst contributing to the work. This work commenced at the 2014 Māori Art Market and was most recently present at the D.A.N.C.E Art Club noho and subsequent exhibtion at the Whau Art Centre, Avondale Auckland July 2016.
Exhibitions:
2016 Noho 16 Whau Art Centre, Auckland NZ
2014 Māori Art Market TSB Arena, Wellington NZ
Developed for documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany, Kiko Moana is made from light-duty blue tarpaulin. Please see the following website for taniwha narratives kindly given by our friends and family.
