Debbie Ngarewa-Packer Opens Autumn Exhibition Season
15 Mar 2024, Ana Sciascia
Our autumn season opened last weekend and included the first public solo exhibitions for Ahilapalapa Rands and Maioha Kara as well as Paraikete Threads, a group exhibition acknowledging the wealth of creativity and mātauranga happening in the realm of blankets. Paraikete Threads features Jeanine Clarkin, Mataaho Collective and Noa Blankets.
We were joined by Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, local MP for Te Tai Hauāuru and Te Pāti Māori co-leader, who described the exhibitions as “rongoā for the soul” and paid tribute to all the artists and creatives present:
“Indigenous artists are the front-line activists who have the courage and creative spirit to tell our narrative in a way that last for generations – this is the caucus of real change”
Our thanks to mana whenua for opening this season with karakia led by Callum Katene. We were then treated after formalities by the positive beats by DJ Tuāfale Tanoa'i aka Linda T; as well as the unwavering support of The Friends of Pātaka.
Each of the three exhibitions, curated by Pātaka Lead Curator Ioana Gordon-Smith, are connected by a commitment to retaining Indigenous histories, genealogies, and relations:
Ahilapalapa Rands: Across the Sea
Brings to light the experiences of Kanaka Māoli, living in diaspora. Drawing on part, on a mele composed by her kupuna, Rands’ considers how ongoing attachments to ancestral lands manifest from a distance - how do elements of ancestral homes travel, and what form can they take in new, diasporic environments.
Maioha Kara: In Good Relation
Beautiful glitter adorned timber artworks ask us to remember our own relations to each other, and to te taiao. Across the show, she recalls our multiple whakapapa lines, both personal and beyond to our relationships with nature and the very beginnings of creation.
Paraikete Threads
Looks at how Māori creatives are responding to and extending the many meanings of the blanket in te ao Māori.
From Mataaho Collective’s contemporary expression on wānanga and noho marae in acknowledging Te Whare Pora, through to Jeanine Clarkin’s 30-year legacy of upcycled fashion designs; and Noa Blanket’s distinct statement of both excellence and familiarity. Each of these artists reminds us of the deeper stories, histories and mātauranga embedded in the blanket.
Black mink, couture fashion, alluring glitter, velvet pageantry, luxury wool, and the glimmer of tinsel are found across our shows. The combination of these feel-good, material sensory experiences and deep mātauranga indicates that Indigenous resilience is and can be part of our life experiences, experiences that extend into our moments of joy and our aspiration.
Each exhibition is accompanied by kick-ass writing. Our thanks to Lana Lopesi and Andrea Low, whose essays are provided in Ahilapalapa’s show Across the Sea. And we also look forward to sharing writing by Puawai Cairns for Paraikete Threads and an upcoming catalogue launch featuring writing by Hanahiva Rose for Maioha’s exhibition In Good Relation.
All three exhibitions are on now till 2 June 2024.
Photos: Mark Tantrum Photography
