distance rewoven from the roots to the stem presents new work by Tāmaki Makaurau based practitioner Arielle Walker. Beginning with the relationship between storytelling and traditional crafts passed down over generations, the work references lines of her tūpuna wāhine and looks towards her ancestral homelands, particularly Taranaki, Scotland, and Ireland.
Past Exhibition
Tāite 15 Āperira -
Hātarei 15 Mei
Thursday 15 April -
Saturday 15 May
2021
first soft light of the rising sun (2020)
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View , 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Mending the disconnections and ruptures that have occurred over time–through colonialism in and from these homelands–Walker is engaged in the act of reclaiming and restoring, unpicking and reweaving that Hinekura Smith describes: a small, quiet act of decolonising the self.
Opening preview: Wednesday 14 April, 5.30pm
Rāapa 14 Pāenga-whāwhā, 5:30pm
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki harakeke and gorse) onto hemp fibre unravelled by hand; whatu in plant-dyed (gorse, kānuka, harakeke, lupin, tanekaha) wool yarn. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki harakeke and gorse) onto hemp fibre unravelled by hand; whatu in plant-dyed (gorse, kānuka, harakeke, lupin, tanekaha) wool yarn. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View , 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, embodying my roots, skin, and leaves: a countermap of home, 2020-ongoing; Foraged plant dyes (acorns, angiangi/feusag a gobhair/ goats beard lichen, dock/copag root, gorse flowers and spines, harakeke para, kānuka bark, kawakawa, lupin leaves, mānuka leaves, onion skin, pōhutukawa bark, pōhutukawa roots, tanekaha bark, yarrow, woad), aluminium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium carbonate on vintage and handed-down woollen blanket. Currently 1550 x 3500mm. lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, rongoā, 2020. Audio (spoken poem fragments, the ocean at Tongapōrutu, Taranaki springwater, tones from Granddad’s tuning fork). 8 mins 22 seconds (loop). HD video from Tongapōrutu, Taranaki. With thanks to Emily Parr for the filming. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, first soft light of the rising sun, 2020. Foraged plant dyes (angiangi/feusag a gobhair/goats beard lichen, dock/copag, gorse, harakeke, iron sulfate, kānuka, lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, embodying my roots, skin, and leaves: a countermap of home, 2020-ongoing; Foraged plant dyes (acorns, angiangi/feusag a gobhair/ goats beard lichen, dock/copag root, gorse flowers and spines, harakeke para, kānuka bark, kawakawa, lupin leaves, mānuka leaves, onion skin, pōhutukawa bark, pōhutukawa roots, tanekaha bark, yarrow, woad), aluminium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium carbonate on vintage and handed-down woollen blanket. Currently 1550 x 3500mm. lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki harakeke and gorse) onto hemp fibre unravelled by hand; whatu in plant-dyed (gorse, kānuka, harakeke, lupin, tanekaha) wool yarn. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance measured by a mountain’s grief/ distance covered, stitch by tiny stitch, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki seen at a distance from Ruapehu on a clear day) onto hemp canvas; Taranaki hand-embroidered back into the image (in cotton thread); drawn-thread/cutwork in hemp thread following Nana’s patterns-in-progress; velvet embroidery fabric prepared by Nana for an unfinished work. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, 2020-ongoing. Hīkoi; 35mm film; dye-sublimated print (of Taranaki harakeke and gorse) onto hemp fibre unravelled by hand; whatu in plant-dyed (gorse, kānuka, harakeke, lupin, tanekaha) wool yarn. 600 x 1000mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View , 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, embodying my roots, skin, and leaves: a countermap of home, 2020-ongoing; Foraged plant dyes (acorns, angiangi/feusag a gobhair/ goats beard lichen, dock/copag root, gorse flowers and spines, harakeke para, kānuka bark, kawakawa, lupin leaves, mānuka leaves, onion skin, pōhutukawa bark, pōhutukawa roots, tanekaha bark, yarrow, woad), aluminium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium carbonate on vintage and handed-down woollen blanket. Currently 1550 x 3500mm. lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, rongoā, 2020. Audio (spoken poem fragments, the ocean at Tongapōrutu, Taranaki springwater, tones from Granddad’s tuning fork). 8 mins 22 seconds (loop). HD video from Tongapōrutu, Taranaki. With thanks to Emily Parr for the filming. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, first soft light of the rising sun, 2020. Foraged plant dyes (angiangi/feusag a gobhair/goats beard lichen, dock/copag, gorse, harakeke, iron sulfate, kānuka, lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, embodying my roots, skin, and leaves: a countermap of home, 2020-ongoing; Foraged plant dyes (acorns, angiangi/feusag a gobhair/ goats beard lichen, dock/copag root, gorse flowers and spines, harakeke para, kānuka bark, kawakawa, lupin leaves, mānuka leaves, onion skin, pōhutukawa bark, pōhutukawa roots, tanekaha bark, yarrow, woad), aluminium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium carbonate on vintage and handed-down woollen blanket. Currently 1550 x 3500mm. lupin, onion skin, tanekaha) on handed-down silk, cotton muslin, and linen; Grandmama’s threads. 1820 x 4700mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, distance rewoven from the roots to the stem, Installation View, 2021. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Image: Arielle Walker, tūpuna guide us to weave in any way we can, 2019–ongoing; muka gathered from Taranaki and Tāmaki Makaurau, and gathered, prepared, and shared through whatuoura rōpu, hand knit into the traditional Print o da Wave Shetland lace pattern. Currently 100 x 630mm. Photo: Bunty Bou.
Arielle Walker
Arielle Walker (Taranaki, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi, Pākehā) is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based contemporary artist, writer and maker.
Having recently completed a Master of Visual Arts at AUT University, her practice seeks pathways towards reciprocal belonging through the intersections and connections between land, language, and craft, focusing on tactile storytelling and ancestral narratives. Contexts that surround this include the interconnectedness of isolated islands, the intrinsic ties of language and land, migration across the swell and pull of the ocean, textile traditions passed down through generations of tūpuna wāhine, roots and botanical belongings, pūrākau ("myths" and "folklore") as non-fiction.