Past Exhibition

Orooro te toki nā Hinetūāhōanga brings focus to the atua wahine and ancestress Hinetūāhōanga. Tracing back to Hawaiki she was the mother (or grandmother) of Rātā. While Rātā is well known for felling rākau in Hawaiki, it was Hinetūāhōanga who gave him the karakia to recite to fell the tree, and who offered her spine for Rātā to sharpen his toki upon. Hence she is the atua wahine of hōanga, or sandstone. She later chased Ngahue and his ika, Poutini, from Hawaiki to Te Wai Pounamu.

Orooro te toki nā Hinetūāhōanga imagines Hinetūāhōanga in a space between Hawaiki and here, between past and present, as an embodiment of hōanga, and key component to the process of mahi whakairo. Here, Hinetūāhōanga sits upon water reminiscent of the Ōtākou harbour near Blue Oyster Art Project Space. 

The process of creating Orooro te toki nā Hinetūāhōanga pulls on research by Kahurangiariki’s mother, Aroha Yates-Smith, of ngā atua wāhine and of Hinetūāhōanga in particular. Back in the day, Kahurangiariki drew designs during lunch break for her brother Mokonuiarangi to carve. Now, many years later, one of Mokonuiarangi Smith’s carvings has been digitised and brought to life in this collaboration between Lane Le Prevost-Smith and Kahurangiariki Smith.

He tohu aroha te mahi toi nei ki tō mātou nei tipuna wahine, atua wahine hoki, ki a Hinetūāhōanga. I whāia a Ngahue rāua ko tāna mōkai a Poutini e Hinetūāhōanga mai i Hawaiki ki Te Wai Pounamu. Nā Hinetūāhōanga tonu te karakia i hoatu ki a Rātā, ā i huri tōna tuarā kia taea ai e Rātā tana toki te whakakoi. Nā reira ka puta mai te whakataukī, "Orooro te toki nā Hinetūāhōanga."

He mihi hoki te mahi nei ki te waka o Tākitimu. He uri a Kahurangiariki Smith nō ngā tīpuna i heke mai ai i runga i te waka o Tākitimu. I te wā ka tau atu te waka ki te te Tairāwhiti ka noho ōku nei tīpuna. Ka mutu ka heke te waka nei ki Te Wai Pounamu. E ai ki ētahi kei reira tonu te waka e okioki ana.

Nā Mokonuiarangi te whakairo i hanga, nā Lane Le Prevost-Smith te whakairo i whakamamati, ā, nā tōku Māmā, nā Aroha Yates-Smith i whakamārama mai, i akiaki hoki mai i a au kia whai ai au i tēnei mahi.