Artworks blossom before wider audience
ruby.macandrew@stuff.co.nz
An initiative aimed at bringing art out of galleries and museums and onto the street is bringing a taste of Ma¯tauranga Ma¯ori (Ma¯ori knowledge) to the central city.
Wellington artists Angela Kilford and Aliyah Winter, as part of Wellington City Council’s Waituhi project, have created two large-scale art installations to help celebrate Matariki.
Puawa¯ nanga – Stars Of The forest, was heavily influenced by Ma¯ ori cosmology, in particular, Puawa¯nanga, the daughter of stars Puanga and Rehua.
‘‘It’s drawn from the whakapapa and those connections between the celestial and the earthly realms ... I think having the whakapapa visible gives people a few clues as to what the context is,’’ Kilford said.
The aim of the Waituhi project is to take the festivities and theme of Matariki to a wider audience beyond traditional art spaces, as a way to enliven public spaces with art that acknowledges the importance of Ma¯ ori culture and heritage.
Kilford and Winter’s pieces utilise both visual and text elements, which they hoped would pique the interest of the public walking or driving past.
‘‘Hopefully it gives people a prompt to find out what those [Ma¯ori] words mean if they don’t already know,’’ Winter said.
Their work has been installed on an overbridge banner at Jervois of Quay, as well as on a series billboards at the railway station.
While the pair, who have worked together since 2014, said their individual art styles were quite different, collaborating had come easy.
‘‘We both have our own practices but these are the things that overlap for us. We work really well together,’’ Kilford said.
She said it was exciting to be able to explore Ma¯ori culture from a place of ‘‘strength and uniqueness’’.
"This is Ma¯ tauranga Ma¯ ori at it’s best and we can all learn from it.’’
For Winter it has also been a chance to learn from Kilford and her ties to Ma¯ ori culture.
‘‘I’m just really aware of myself as a Pa¯keha¯ person and working in a space that is often tied to Angela’s whakapapa so I just try take her lead on that stuff.
‘‘I think it’s really important for everyone, Pa¯ keha¯ or otherwise, to get on board and learn more about Ma¯ ori culture.’’