Exhibition

Whakawhiti Aria: Transmission

Birch - Cotton - Jahnke 22 September - 1 December 2013

Whakawhiti Aria: Transmission profiles the work of three leading contemporary Maori artists from the Manawatu region: Israel Birch, Shane Cotton and Robert Janke. The premise of the exhibition hinges upon the idea of ‘transmission’ or ‘whakawhiti'; that is, the state of something being transmitted or exchanged from one person or thing to another, be it energy, ideas, information or inspiration. In addition to this concept the word ‘aria’ meaning ‘likeness’ or ‘resemblance’ suggests a visual exchange as aria were essentially symbolic pictographic representations of Nga Atua (the gods). Informed by these concepts, each of the artists in this exhibition has created new works that directly reference the other artists’ practices.

 Curated by Te Manawa Museum, Palmerston North