The healing art of poupou
front of it and be talked to.
‘‘This log is Matai wood come out of the Wairau River,’’ Reg says. ‘‘It’s at least a couple of hundred years old, probably more. It was all cracked and everything else, so we wanted to blend paua from the Wairau River, and pebbles from Rarangi.’’
Reg runs his hand across a long curved line going up the length of the poupou.
‘‘These are the mountains of Wairau. And this carved hand in the middle means birth, life and death and reincarnation.’’
The poupou in the Wairau Hospital chapel is companion to several other pieces, including the ear nose and throat healing panel hanging in the outpatient ward, called Eyes to See, Ears to hear, and Mouths to Speak With (1994).
‘‘It’s all about healing for the kids; about sore ears, and glue ear and balance. The mouths are speaking healing talk to the ears,’’ Reg says.
But Reg says the traditional craft of Maori carving is a dying art.
‘‘There’s not very many master carvers left. There’s only about 60 or 70. Once we are gone the tradition goes with us too. During my training I wasn’t allowed to write anything down, or draw pictures or take photos. It’s sad, because we don’t see a lot of the kids into this kind of thing anymore wanting to pass it on.’’
It’s a motivation or calling he cannot explain that drives him to do what he does, not money.
‘‘If you’re really passionate about something, time doesn’t matter. It’s the beauty you bring out in the wood. To other artists, or the public, they might see the dollars and value that way. I see the passion in the work.’’
Mabel says anyone can visit the chapel to see the piece, or just sit and be.
Exhibitions
‘Clarity and Confusion’ at The Gallery in Havelock, featuring mixed media paintings by Marlborough artist Philip Cowe, focusing heavily on the many changing moods of the sea.
‘Picture This!’ opens at the Millennium Public Art Gallery in Blenheim on July 1 and runs to August 13. Picture This! is the latest picture book exhibition collaboration between the New Zealand Painted Stories Children’s Literature Trust and the Millennium.
‘Public and Private: Photographs of People, Millennium Public Art Gallery, July 1 to August 13. Comprises photographs from various periods of time shown in Te Papa’s large-scale exhibition New Zealand Photography Collected which was a popular hit in 2016. Floor talk with curator Athol McCredie, July 1 at 2pm.
Discord: Drawings, Friday, June 23 to Sunday, July 2, Detour Art Gallery, Market St, Blenheim. Features work from four experienced artists, Craig Bluett, Wendy Murphy, Danny Knox and Sudhir Duppati.
Marlborough Creative Fibre Guild: Handworks 2017 Exhibition and Scarf Expo at the Yealands Estate Marlborough Gallery until July 2. Free entry.
Theatre
New Zealand dance company Black Grace presents As Night Falls at the ASB Theatre on July 2. All ages.
Music
Marlborough District Brass Band presents Road to China. The band has been selected to represent New Zealand in the Shanghai International Music Festival. Join them and Blenheim-based Welsh soprano Elin Tomos for a practice run at the ASB Theatre on June 29.
New Zealand Guitar Quartet, Friday, June 30 at the Picton Little Theatre, tickets $20.
Other
Rapaura School Art & Auction, Friday, June 30, 6pm-10pm, The Vines Village, tickets $45, R18, phone 021 473 633.
Coming up
Rhys Darby presents Mystic Time Bird at the ASB Theatre Marlborough on July 6 from 8pm.
Sleeping Beauty, a ballet in three acts at the ASB Theatre Marlborough on July 9 and 10.
Marlborough Music Society presents the Troubadour Quartet at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, all ages, on July 21. Tickets through TicketDirect.
The Marlborough Book Festival runs July 28 to 31. Hear from authors, poets and journalists at several events over the weekend. Some have already sold out. Tickets from the Marlborough Book Festival website.
The combined colleges production of Evita. August 1 to 5 at the ASB Theatre Marlborough.
The Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival, August 9 to 12, free, all ages. Ends with a gala concert on August 12. Tickets from TicketDirect.