E muri ahiahi - curated by Jade Townsend for Matariki 2021

E muri ahiahi – curated by Jade Townsend 20 June- 17 July 2021

Jade Townsend Ngāti Kahungungu, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi 1.E muri atu / Into the future, 2021.

NZ Sheepskin car-seat, also used in my son’s room, Golden American Acrylic paint. H 880 x W650 X D35mm

$3500

I made this work in the lead up to a collaborative show (of the same title) that I did with Emiko Sheehan in Kirikiriroa earlier this year.

Hana Aoake wrote an incredible essay to accompany it. The three of us had been sharing ideas about water and swimming with one another. I always feel drawn to the ocean or to rivers when I am with these friends, I feel very natural and safe in their presence.

When we eat or gather together, we traverse a wide range of topics that we are curious about, often re-imagining textures and atmospheres from local stories – this isn’t conscious, it is just the way we play and learn together. Emiko had recently made He Piko Taniwha and I was fascinated by her representation of a taniwha in her illustrations.

This piece explores taniwha skin – how it might feel and behave as it dried in the sun. The markings are symbols and motifs which reference moments in our friendship – there is a connection to moko here – like revealing the whakapapa of our unity.

My walls are a portal 1, 2020/2021 $3,500 L 380 x H 900 x D90mm Souvenir postcards form Takapuna charity shop, storage bag found in shed, house paint, thread, Hermes ribbon fishing rope from beaches in Phuket, Thailand, acrylic paint from America, card board.

Made mainly during the first rāhui, on Ngāti Whtua land in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Transendence and time travel, mauri objects of persistance and optimism, recourcesfulness, play.

Jade Townsend is a visual artist and storyteller working at the intersection of her Māori and British heritage. She describes her identity as a “non-fixed duality that moves within the ebbs and flows of contradictory cultural forces”. She was born and raised in Whanganui before moving to Liverpool, United Kingdom where she spent her teenage years. Townsend’s exposure to a wide range of accents, dialects, regional slang, folktale and pūrākau made her aware of the limitations of translation. Townsend is interested in creating politically and socially minded art objects that speak to local concerns and aspirations whilst acknowledging the complex nature of cultural hybridity.

Townsend was recently awarded artist-in-residence at Artspace Aotearoa and has completed other residency programmes at Objectspace, Slade School of Art in London and Red Gate gallery in Beijing. Townsend is currently organising Whanau Mārama, a Matariki exhibition for Commercial Bay where she will present a major sculptural commission. Townsend has recently exhibited at Objectspace, RAMP, RM Gallery, Page Galleries and Laree Payne.

Hana Pera Aoake Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Hinerangi me Ngāti Raukawa, Tainui/Waikato, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kaāti Waewae ki Kāi Tahu 2.Tio Para (Nana Jean),2021.

Hand built oyster bowl. Mixture of uku from Karangahape road and Whakatū(Nelson), glaze and found glass.

L230 x W220 x D30mm

$250

3.Tino reka!, 2021.

Hand built oyster bowl. Mixture of uku (clay) from Karangahape road and Whakatū (Nelson), glaze and found glass.

L240 x W220 x D45mm $250 3.Kōwhai, 2021.

Hand built decorative bowl. Mixture of uku (clay) from Blackhead beach and Whakatū (Nelson) and glaze. $150

These works came out of my interest in the interaction between human and non-human entities by working using a kaupapa Māori framework. As an artist I like to experiment with different materials that I find and see what happens. I started making ceramics a year ago under the guidance of Madeline Child. For a long time I have been interested in collecting and collating different earth pigments and connecting with the whakapapa of the whenua through Papatūānuku's uku and Rūaumoko's sand and stones.

I wanted to create a good oyster eating vessel that reminded me of the sea and of Paua shells for my Great-grandmother in law, Nana Jean, who loves oysters. We like to eat oysters in the same way: raw with a little lemon.

Hana Pera Aoake is an artist and writer based in Te Rotopāteke on stolen Kai Tahu, Kati Mamoe and Waitaha whenua. Hana is a mixed media artist working in painting, sculpture, performance, ceramics, textiles, raranga and video. Hana holds an MFA (First class) from Massey University (2018) and was a participant in the ISP programme at Maumaus des escola artes (2020).

Lissy & Rudi Lissy - Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu. Rudi - Waikato, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Tu 4.Tekoteko - Tāne Mahuta H 1520 x W 550 x D 550mm

$35,500(Commission only)

5.Koruru - Tawhirimatea H860 x W600 x D230mm

$17,700(Commission only)

Tāne Mahuta is the tekoteko who will stand at the apex of Wharenui Harikoa. The purakau of Tāne Mahuta is that he separated his parents, Papatuānuku and Ranginui. He travelled into the heavens with the various celestial bodies to suspend them in the sky, bringing light to the world. Tane carried these stars in his basket Te Mangaroa in which he drew the brightest and placed them on his father's chest. He was so enraptured at what he had done, he spilled his basket and the stars scattered across the universe.

Tawhirimatea was so displeased at Tāne Mahuta for separating their parents, he fought his brother Tūmatauenga God of war and humanity in an epic battle but he lost. Defeated he flew heaven-ward to be with his father and in an act of rage and contempt for his brothers and with aroha for his father, he plucked out his eyes, crushed them and threw them into the night sky. The eyes stuck to the chest of his father Ranginui to form the Matariki cluster - Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimatea.

Crocheting has given us a visual language which has in turn given us the gift of understanding our kaupapa - joy!

Through crocheting, we have come to understand the symbology of connecting loops and how this relates to the complex relationships we have with ourselves, with others and our relationship to the past, present, and future. Crochet is a portal of joy in which we invite others to enter. Together, our energies draw from our deep connection to our tūpuna and like a river, our creative process embraces and takes us naturally in its current. We see ourselves like a prism in which the aroha of our tūpuna shines through us and is expressed in our own unique ways like the spectrum of the rainbow. As their aroha radiates through us it is reflected back to us by the light and aroha of our communities. Our crochet art is an explosion of joy and celebration of life in full living colour.

We are working on creating a large scale fully crocheted Wharenui, Wharenui Harikoa which will tell the story of Matariki. We acknowledge the mahi of Dr Rangi Matamua in sharing the whakaaro of his tupuna in the Matariki story on which Wharenui Harikoa is based. We also acknowledge that there are many versions of Matariki and Puanga across all iwi in Aotearoa.

Maia McDonald Hapu: Ngāti Mutunga, Urenui Marae, Taranaki, NZ. Iwi: Te Āti Awa, Parihaka, Taranaki, NZ. 6. Hauhake I H175 x Dia130mm

$1100

7. Hauhake II (Tile) H255 x L 255 X D45mm

$1600

8. Platter for aunty 2021 L445 x W315 x H50mm

$1700

The works you have were made while my partner Nick Kreisler and I were living next door to driving creek. The clay was sourced from driving creek. The works were made in response to the Objectspace group exhibition organised by Jade. The works speak to a Ralph Hotere and Hone Tuwhare poem 'Hauhake'. I gave a workshop at this exhibition that sat inside of Caravanex, the caravan that was situated in the courtyard at Objectspace.

The objects for the show are adorned with scratched marks, one is a hook on the platter. The other is on the vase, this shape is also on the wall work. Reflecting the ideas that come when viewing the work by Tuwhare and Hotere. The artworks are having a direct conversation with the work of these artists.

As a Māori artist I find the whakapapa of uku important to unpack and address. (This is also a very personal conversation that cannot always take place on paper.) It was a great experience to be a part of Hauhake at Objectspace. But also to be a part of the Matariki exhibition Jade has organised with the team at Masterworks. A big mihi out to everyone who is working hard to make this show happen.

Jude Te Punga Nelson Te Āti awa 9.Ehe! 2021 (interjection) wow! gosh! crikey! gee whiz! hell's teeth! well I'll be damned! - an exclamation expressing surprise. Kakahu, Muka, commercial dye, feathers.

1100 x 950mm $17,700 Our history and legends tell us many stories of the sea journey to Aotearoa. Our tipuna (ancestors) had sophisticated ancient knowledge of the stars and ocean currents. The night sky held the stars to guide by night and migratory birds and whales lead our people by day. Our stories tell us that two toroa, (albatross) accompanied the voyagers.

“Ehe” came to me in a vision.

I can hardly fathom the awe that our tīpuna might have felt as they first encountered the mighty Southern Alps; snow covered and reaching to the sky. (Tāniko pattern at the top). And then, Aurora Australis revealed itself at night.... Ehe! The kākahu has a woven pattern at the bottom of the kākahu, (named “Whale’s tail”). You might be able to see whales diving into the ocean.

10.Hiriwa. 2021 (Kete), Harakeke, Commercial dye, Muka, Feathers. 240 x 185 x 50mm + handles.

Creating “rain” in the space between mountains with the Raranga pattern takirua.

$850

Kia ora my name is Jude Te Punga Nelson. I am the second of four daughters, born and raised in the Hutt Valley, descending from many peoples including Maori, Chinese, German and English.

I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but I trained and have practiced as a Radiation Therapist in 3 countries for many years.

I am married to John and I have two adult children, Sam and Rachel, all of whom were born in the USA. In 2012 I took the leap into Maori weaving. I had no idea it was called Raranga and I was worried I’d signed up to the wrong course with Te Wananga o Aotearoa. I graduated in 2016 with a BA Maunga Kura Toi (Raranga), Excellence.

Raranga is an extraordinary art. It’s physical (I have very strong arms and hands) and intellectually challenging from a maths viewpoint as it’s all about patterns. It requires concentration and repetition and patience. It’s creative and spiritual. It sings to me when it’s “right” and is flat when it’s not quite there yet.

In these past 10 years since starting my Raranga journey, I have learned so much about myself as Maori.

Sir Apirana Ngata wrote “grow up, little one, in the way of your day and age, your hands grasping the tools of the white man for your physical well-being; remembering in your heart the works of your ancestors which are worthy of being worn as a diadem upon your brow; your soul ever turned towards God Who is the Creator of all things.”

Emily Parr Ngāi Te Rangi, Moana, Pākehā 11. Whakamārama: dusk/dawn (Tauranga Moana), 2021.

HD moving-image still printed digitally on hemp. 1260 x 640 mm.

$950

Whakamārama: dusk/dawn (Tauranga Moana) observes the setting and rising of the sun, acknowledging the cyclical rhythms of Matariki and the natural world. The two images layered through tāniko patterns were filmed on the same stretch of beach in Tauranga Moana at both dusk and dawn. The tāniko patterns — waharua kōpito, aronui and whetū — reference the artist’s haerenga of reconnecting with her whakapapa, her ancestors’ migration across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, and the Matariki cluster. The first in an ongoing series, Whakamārama: dusk/dawn (Tauranga Moana) honours Hine-te-iwaiwa, atua wahine of both fertility and weaving, and the artist’s maternal line.

Emily Parr is an artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her moving-image practice weaves through time and space, seeking stories in archives, waters, and on haerenga to ancestral homelands. Emily holds a BFA (Hons) from Elam School of Fine Arts, an MVA from AUT, and is currently working towards a PhD.

Emiko Sheehan Ngāti Maniapoto, Tūwharetoa, Rauwaka, Waikato and Japan 12.He piko He Taniwha Pukapuka, 2020. Kokowai, sumi ink, pen on paper . 8.5 metres long

NFS

13.My best space Māori life Edition of 50. Inkjet print of kodak pro matte paper with archival inks. 406mm sq

$350 each

Sheehan is a multimedia artist who works in video, poetry, installation, drawing and painting. Recently Emiko has been using her whakapapa as inspiration for her mahi and as a tool for collapsing time and reconnecting to her taha Māori. Her work explores her process of decolonising stale/male/pale narratives and re indigenizing the world around her. He Piko He Taniwha was made when Emiko was travelling back and forth from Tāmaki to Kirikiriroa, when her niece was a newborn. During these trips Emiko would have conversations with her Māmā about their whakapapa, Emiko would carry these conversations back with her on the drive home along the Waikato awa.

Natasha Te Arahori Keating Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Tūhoe, Te Āti Haunui A Pāpārangi 14.Hine Marama, 2021. Pencil and woodstain on kauri, Dia275 x D35mm

$1700

15.Matariki, 2021. Pencil and woodstain on kauri, Dia 310 x D55mm

$1700

16.Hina, 2020.Pencil and woodstain on kauri, Dia 430 x D80mm

$2700

17.In transition / Hine Nui Te Pō revisited, 2018. Pencil and woodstain on kauri, (Double sided) L1490 x W595 x D23mm

$7500

These works are of the moon, a star and a star constellation.

The moon and her phases are personified as Hine Marama. She dictates and controls time through her consistent appearances in our night sky. The maramataka is a reading of her movement to measure time.

Matariki is a constellation of many stars for which we have names and personalities of 9. They are significant for many iwi as their re appearance in our early morning sky signifies the beginning of a new year. Their appearance can be read and can foretell the coming year.

These works are an acknowledgement and celebration of Māori mātauranga and our understanding of astronomy and the environment.

Auckland based Māori artist Natasha Keating creates contemporary pou, figurative works on recycled native timber.

In the whakapapa of Māori art, I align my practice with whakairo. I am influenced by the carvings of my ancestors and their storytelling of people, time and place. I rescue native wood to paint on and tell todays stories of wahine māori experiences and survival through colonisation. My portraits literally give face to indigenous strength, power, beauty and resilience.”

Keatings work has been shown extensively in Aotearoa and internationally. Selected exhibitions are Te Kōpū in collaboration with Bethany Matai Edmunds at Māngere Arts Centre Ngā Tohu o Uenuku (2018), Keating was included in the Beijing Biennale 2019 and in Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki 2021.

Abigail Aroha Jensen

Ngāi Tāmanuhiri - Rangiwaho, Ngāti Porou, Te whānau-a Ruataupare, Te whānau-a Tūwhakairiora, Ballyclare, Count Antrim and Belfast.

18.Miss Matariki Mobile, 2021.

Harakeke paper, Indian ink, rope made from reconstructed artworks, Ribbon, rose scented paper, brass, pearl and rhinestone embellishments.

Mobile and Poem (variable dimensions)

NFS

Miss Matariki is a playful reflection on gestures of nationhood as our cultures continue to integrate into the 21st century. A reflection into rejection of arbitrary tokens which interrogate a more cynical and deranged subject in relation to our relationship with the state.

She is subversive and playful in creating her own perceived world.

Miss Matariki is a poem playing jester much like the cheeky trickster, Maui Pōtiki. Always ready with a side hussle; defiant & disruptive in his ways. Not limited by his expectations and a force of knowledge as a result of his own curiosity. Miss Matariki acts like the visionary tīpuna ariki Ruataupare, unapologetic in her resistance; bravely building from the latent potential of te kore. Miss Matariki is a vision of past, present and future.

Miss Matariki is the modern Māori puhi bedroom, the domestic background to her thoughts and revelations. Constantly navigating her way between two tidal forces: of Aotearoa, and of New Zealand. She re-imagines ngā taonga tuku iho, catching threads of whare tukutuku in order to ascend the pou-tama-hine. It is whakaahuahutanga - transformation in the face of adversity; towards whakakotahitanga - reintegration into this time and space.

19.Miss Matariki’s plaything Kite, 2021. Dowl rods, raranga made from reconstructed artworks, ribbon, netting, cellophane, rhinestone embellishments.

NFS

Abigail Aroha Jensen is an artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her whakapapa is traced from Coastal regions - Ngāi Tāmanuhiri Rangiwaho, Muriwai - Ngāti Porou, Te whānau-a Ruataupare, Te whānau-a Tūwhakairiora, Ballyclare, Count Antrim and Belfast.

Abigail recently graduated with honours from Toihoukura school of Māori visual art and design in Turanganui-a-kiwa. Recent work includes Ngā Haki o te Tangata; Whiri Whiria Muka Tangata (2020), Occupied Territories at RM gallery with Avigail Allan and Naomi Allan (2021), Manawa i te Kāniwha in collaboration with George Watson at Artspace Aotearoa (2021) and currently playing their latest collaborative work, Pūtahitanga kura is The Lightship, a new contemporary arts platform at Bledisloe wharf on the Ports of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Tracey Tawhiao Ngāi Te Rangi, Tūwharetoa and Whakatōhea descent. Mātaatua te waka The Star in us Mirror Red canvas White wing canvas

$2000 $2500 each $2500 each

We whakapapa to the Stars by a Star inside us. The light of our eternal being. Matariki is our whanau by whakapapa, by blood. It’s cellular. It’s the nothingness too. The place of our potential and where Stars are also born. We see a shining glittering light in the night. Then it’s a live with millions of lights. Like a wave this light can be seen then not seen. It’s visibility a beautiful affair. It’s patterns, changing, but staying the same. A teacher. The same Stars lead our tupuna on waka to meet people and places. A leader.

Over vast seas these Stars were followed by Star navigators, holding close to the Star inside them. A great inspiration. This is my portrait of the Star inside us.

Tracey is a multi-disciplined contemporary artist who has studied and works in a variety of creative fields. She is a writer, performance poet, moving image maker, qualified lawyer and a leading contemporary Māori artist. She is a published poet and as an artist she has exhibited works nationally and internationally including, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Paris, Le Havre, London, Tahiti, Taipei, Beijing, and Melbourne. Her artworks impart her experience and position as a Māori woman in colonised society. She has been a full time Artist for over 20 years.

Education: Bachelor of Arts (BA) Classical Studies major: Otago University, Dunedin, and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Otago University and Auckland University. Master of Philosophy (MPHIL) AUT. Tawhiao is the Director of Tawhiao Limited, a Creative Company for creating exhibitions, projects and shows. She is the Director of House of Taonga Salon, www.houseoftaonga.com “a house of natural flow for artists to create and share.

Nikau Hindin Ngai Tūpoto, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi 25. Maukahau 26. Tārarau Ātea 27. Papa Whakatangitangi 28. Tītore Māhu Tū aute paper with kōkōwai, Ngārahu

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These pieces represent the houses below the horizon Matariki visit at the end of the Māori new year for seven nights each, before becoming our morning star representing Te Matahi o te Tau, the beginning of the year.

29. Ararau aute paper with kōkōwai, Ngārahu

NFS