Threading together ideas of listening to the earth, storytelling and inspiration from the novel Momo, Whenua Feeling provides space for us to breathe through the tumultuous current age.
Bringing together Noa Noa’s print making practice, one of her large inflatable soft sculptures and a sound work made in collaboration with her son, Ngahere Wafer, Whenua Feeling is a tactile, earth toned exhibition that bursts with colours.
In one part of her short story, Mama Maunga, Noa Noa writes: “Hinerauwharangi helps me dig a hole and I stick my head into the moist earth, spreading my hair out over the ground. She sits next to me and together we wait for the seed to grow.” In many ways, this encapsulates the whakaaro of this exhibition.
It is about working together with the natural world to slow down and listen to what is happening around us. To remember why we are on earth - to support each other, care for our environment and live in harmony with our Atua.