‘‘As Above, So Below’’, Te Rongo Kirkwood (Milford Gallery)
A BLEND of Maori traditions and modern elements also infuses the work of Te Rongo Kirkwood. Here, traditional Maori style and materials combine with modern scientific discovery to make works which honour the mythological and empirical nature of the universe.
The artist uses historic flaxweaving techniques and nontraditional elements, such as etched glass, to produce impressive and beautiful cloak forms. In other works, the patterns of tukutuku are implied in arrays which also imply the binary-coded images relayed to Earth from space probes and the very large array radio telescope systems designed to receive their messages.
Further glass patterns reference the spectroscopic and radio wave patterns which indicate the precise nature of stellar and planetary atmospheres. Yet, despite this, the works are distinctly and overwhelmingly within the mainstream of traditional Maori art. In their interweaving of science and spirit, they create a new synthesis and a new language.
If this was not enough, the pieces are also very beautiful. The delicate patterning and play of light in the three God Particle works, the geometries of Black Sun, and the flax and glass Whiwhi works (the latter transcending more boundaries with an appearance which echoes North American ‘‘Thunderbird’’ designs) are all standout creations in their own right.