'Caste's' exploration of whakapapa and mana wahine

'Caste's' exploration of whakapapa and mana wahine opens 4 November

Artists Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti and Terri Te Tau are welcoming all to the opening of their exhibition Caste at Aratoi on 4 November at 5.30pm. They will talk about their work at Aratoi on Saturday 5 November at 12pm.

This is a collaborative exhibition that explores themes of whakapapa (genealogy) and mana wahine: a concept that embodies authority, power and influence of women in society. The exhibition explores the positioning of these concepts within the socio-political realities of today.

The artists share a common Wairarapa ancestor, Kaipaoe, who lived during the colonial period and is the main source of inspiration for the exhibition. Rongomaiaia is a descendant of the relationship of Kaipaoe and whaler John Robert Brown. Terri is a descendant of Kaipaoe and Tikawenga.

Rongomaiaia’s work is a series of paintings that speak to the early relationships between Māori and Pakeha looking at the issue of commodification, its links with the whaling industry of the time and what that meant for women.

Rongomaiaia says: "The inspiration for these paintings come from the relationship of my ancestors Kaipaoe and John Robert Brown. John Robert Brown was a whaler so with this work I am looking at the relationship of Māori and the whaling industry during the colonial period through the lens of my ancestors."

Terri’s figurative sculptures, made from lace and resin, are a comment on the creeping influence of concepts such as terrorism as a justification to expand the surveillance of the public sphere. At its heart the work is an expression of concern at the consequential erosion of human rights and the impact on women.

Terri says: "The sculptures are a personal story, they are feminine in form, the material is lace which suggests privacy or in this context the invasion of privacy through a growing culture of surveillance."

The exhibition has been made possible with the assistance of the Creative Communities Scheme Masterton, Te Pūtahi-a-Toi School of Māori Studies Massey University and Aratoi Wairarapa Musuem of Art and History.
For more information contact: Terri Te Tau: 0278676168.

Caste, 5 November - 11 December 2011
Aratoi - Wairarapa Museum of Art & History, Cnr Bruce and Dixon St, Masterton, New Zealand. www.aratoi.co.nz.
Also currently on display at Aratoi: Infrastructure – Tony Nicholls, until 4 Dec; Mind to Mind – Paintings by Carol Bauer, until 6 Nov;
Bohemians of the Brush – Pumpkin Cottage Impressionists, until 20 November.

ENDS

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