LAMENTATION

PROFESSOR ROBERT JAHNKE

8-17 OCT | 11AM-3PM MAIA GALLERY, TOIHOUKURA FREE

LAMENTATION

In Lamentation, Professor Robert Jahnke (Ngāi Taharora, Te Whānau-a-Iritekura, Te Whānau-a-Rakairoa) commissioned poems by six indigenous poets, including Witi Ihimaera and Tina Makereti, for the Lamentation panels. Drawing on their texts, Jahnke laments the destruction of our natural world. The anchor for this collaborative project was Te Tomokanga o te Ua featuring Rain by Hone Tūwhare on the walls and stacked fluorescent tubes within the portal. The pattern speaks of the misadventures of travellers who take shortcuts in haste to get to their destination. Its pattern is formed with stitches that fall vertically, like albatross tears, representing impending catastrophe.