Māori Artists Create Symbols For The Future

Symbols can offer us an access point and a way to interpret things we don’t understand. For Māori a tohu is not only a sign or an emblem; it can also act as a set of directions or wayfinding that allows us to navigate the complexities of contemporary life.

Kaaterina Kerekere (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu) Te Rawheoro (still from Takuahiroa), 2019 Courtesy of the artist.
Tohu Whakatipu explores the unique symbolism and visual languages of three of Aotearoa’s most exciting Māori artists.

Featuring work by Lonnie Hutchinson (Ngāti Kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan, Scottish, Irish and English), Kaaterina Kerekere (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu) and Rangi Kipa (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Tama ki te Tauihu) Tohu Whakatipu unpacks issues that are relevant for many Māori.

“Māori art and design are one of the key identifiers of our cultural identity and heritage. The icons, motifs and stories are unique to our whānau, hapū and iwi.” - Kaaterina Kerekere

In Tohu Whakatipu ideas of wellbeing and connection take centre stage. Whether it is through whakapapa, rongoā or the reimagining of traditional forms, each of the works in the exhibition acts as a link between past, present and future.

"Our art forms are languages and play a fundamental role in the transmission of our knowledge systems and our identity.”ii - Rangi Kipa

Building on the inaugural exhibition Puhi Ariki, which opened at Wairau Māori Art Gallery in February 2022, Tohu Whakatipu takes its cue from the gallery’s kaupapa of profiling contemporary Māori art practice while reflecting ideas that are important in today’s society.

Based in different centres throughout the motu - Taranaki, Ūawa Tologa Bay and Ōtautahi Christchurch – these artists represent distinct points of view related to their iwi and hapū.

Exhibition curator Karl Chitham (Ngā Puhi, Te Uriroroi) says, “This exhibition brings together three artists whose practices challenge preconceptions of Māori symbolism through their innovative and exciting use of technology, materials and forms.”

Artist Bios

Lonnie Hutchinson

(Ngāti Kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan, Scottish, Irish and English)

Hutchinson works in multiple visual media, producing performance, installation, digital works, prints and sculpture as well as her signature paper cut-outs.

Exhibiting internationally as well as throughout New Zealand, Hutchinson’s solo and group shows include ‘Pasifika Style’s, University of Cambridge Museum, United Kingdom (2006-8); ‘L’Art Urbain du Pacifique’, Castle of Saint-Aurent, Limousin, France (2005); ‘Samoa Contemporary’, Pātaka, Porirua (2008) and ‘This Show Is What I Do’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2005). In 2012 Hutchinson was invited to take part in ‘HOME AKL’ at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, a major exhibition showcasing the work of significant Pasifika artists (Jul-Oct 2012).

Hutchinson's works are held in the permanent collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, The Dowse Art Museum, and the New Zealand High Commission in Washington, amongst others.iii

Kaaterina Kerekere

(Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu)

Primarily a digital artist working within the graphic design and animation fields, Kaaterina also works within the disciplines of painting and fine metal adornment. She regularly moves between media to challenge and reinforce concepts around the transition, innovation and interpretation of traditional knowledge and learning.

Kaaterina is a mother of four and works from her home-based design business in Ūawa, Tolaga Bay. She is passionate not only about her own work but also about the development and flourishing of art practices within her community. She supports rangatahi, emerging artists and established artists to expand and extend their practices.iv

Rangi Kipa

(Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Tama ki te Tauihu)

Throughout his career Rangi Kipa has forged a practice that investigates the ways customary Māori language systems, materials and techniques can be re-envisaged in a kōrero between past and present. Returning to Taranaki in 2000, Kipa became a founding member of Te Uhi ā Mataora, the Toi Māori Committee committed to the retention and advancement of tā moko.

Through the Master of Māori Visual Arts programme, Kipa has increasingly moved toward the creation of larger-scale works. As the 2006 Creative New Zealand Craft/Object Fellow, Kipa produced the autobiographical whare whakairo ‘Radiare’ (2007), which was included in the ‘Star Power’ exhibition at the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art and continues to reside in North America. Kipa’s shift towards large-scale work has been developed through major commissions for Waikato University (2011), Victoria University of Wellington (2012), Auckland Museum (2015), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (2015) and most recently, ‘Te Hono’ – the new New Plymouth Ngāmotu airport terminal (2019-2020).

Curator Bio

Karl Chitham

(Ngā Puhi, Te Uriroroi)

Karl Chitham is Director of the Dowse Art Museum and Head of Arts & Culture at Hutt City Council. He formerly held roles as the Director and Curator of Tauranga Art Gallery and Senior Curator at Rotorua Museum. He has extensive experience as a curator having worked with many leading Aotearoa and international artists. He has written for numerous projects and was co-author/editor of Crafting Aotearoa: A Cultural History of Making in New Zealand and the Wider Moana Oceania (2020), an Ockham NZ Book Awards finalist.

i https://www.maoriart.org.nz/te-maramatanga-aoao-nui.html
ii https://www.maoriart.org.nz/rangi-kipa.html
iii https://www.milfordgalleries.co.nz/dunedin/artists/225-Lonnie-Hutchinson
iv https://www.maoriart.org.nz/te-maramatanga-aoao-nui.html
v https://www.thearts.co.nz/artists/rangi-kipa

Title: Tohu Whakatipu

Dates: 24 June – 16 October 2022

Location: Wairau Māori Art Gallery, 2 Quayside, Whangārei

www.wairaumaoriartgallery.co.nz

Wairau Māori Art Gallery Trust

Elizabeth Ellis CNZM (Chair), Elizabeth Hauraki (Treasurer), Dr Benjamin Pittman ONZM (Secretary), Tim Melville, Karl Chitham, Nigel Borell MNZM, Danny Tuato’o (Legal Advisor), Steve Watene (Financial Advisor), Sir Patu Hohepa KNZM (Kaumatua), Lisa Reihana CNZM, Ngahuia Harrison and Taipari Munro.

Kaituku Kairangi – Founding Patrons

Sir Chris Mace KNZM (Ngāti Porou, Te Whanau-ā-Apanui) Peter Cooper CNZM (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kuri)

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