Diverse display of talent from Massey students
A diverse display of talent from Massey University students adorns the walls at the Te Manawa Art Gallery in Palmerston North.
Matatau 2022 showcases work from Mā ori visual art students completing their Bachelor of Mā ori Visual Arts at Massey University.
The exhibition presents a collection covering a range of skills and techniques including textiles, digital art, painting and sculpture.
‘‘I feel really pleased for the students, you know that they’ve got to the stage and to this place,’’ said Kura Te Waru-rewiri, associate professor in the School of Art at Massey University.
‘‘For them, it will be a first for exhibiting in a public gallery.’’
The three fourth-year students completing their bachelor degrees will be assessed on the work they have submitted for the exhibit.
Their pieces are supported by work from students completing the postgraduate diploma and masters programmes for Mā ori Visual Arts.
The kaupapa or focus for the students is mana tangata.
As explained by Te Waru-rewiri and her colleague Karangawai Marsh, the first year of the undergraduate course focuses on mana whakapapa, or heritage. The second year is mana tiriti, or treaty rights. The third year is mana whenua, or land rights.
‘‘Mana tangata is pulling all of that together and figuring out where you stand in that place,’’ Marsh said.
Establishing and developing an artistic representation of where they stand goes hand-in-hand with a sense of identity.
‘‘They’re not just coming into [a] mainstream [course], they’re really coming to find themselves,’’ said Marsh.
Themes explored in the art include the intersection of sex and religion, work inspired by Kurangaituku (the bird woman), and investigating reconnection with ancestral whenua.
Like the array of artwork itself, inspiration is varied.
The ‘‘waterfalls of tears’’ is Raukurawaihoea Naani Waitai’s response to hydroelectricity taking ancestral headwaters.
Traditional tuiga are head pieces that hold the mana, knowledge and wisdom upon the wearer’s head. Marian Ua’i Manusina’s contemporary tuiga are made with feathers, shells, harakeke and money.
Teachers on the programme Te Warurewiri and Marsh are practising artists, academics and educators, with Te Warurewiri being one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most celebrated female Mā ori artists.
Te Waru-rewiri is affiliated with Ngā ti Kahu, Ngā ti Kauwhata, Ngā ti Rangi. Marsh is affiliated with Ngā ti Maniapoto, Ngā ti Raukawa ki te Tonga.
Matatau 2022 will be at the art gallery at Te Manawa until January 29.