Ahi Kōmau
8 September 2023 - 1 October 2023
Christine Harvey, Alice Spittle, Tōmairangi Taiepa, Hōhua Kurene, Alix Ashworth, Jess Collins (Miss Tino) and Megan Brady
Curated by Ngaio Cowell
Te Whare Tapere
Ōtautahi, Christchurch
Aotearoa, NZ
Toru (sea, spark, stone), 2023. Handtufted wool, latex & hessian backing, wool binding. Installation view.
Toru (sea, spark, stone), 2023. Handtufted wool, latex & hessian backing, wool binding. Detail.
Exhibtion text:
Three lines of connection, representing various moments of overlap between my most recent mana wāhine tīpuna and myself. Depicted as flowing channels akin to those of Rakahuri awa, my tāua and I ebb and flow across the landscape we once knew, moved away from, and returned to.
We are the same body of water moving across time and place. Where each line or pathway connect is a visual imagining of the moments where our stories overlap, and there is exchange of mauri, kōrero, and care.
Running parallel to the flowing braids is a simplified pattern inspired by aramoana tāniko whakairo and acts as a gentle reminder of being wrapped in whakapapa and being wrapped in bodies of water. The zigzag is a recurring tohu for me which speaks to navigation and direction. In this case, I am navigating my way through reconnection to people and place. The patterning references our pathway to the sea, while simultaneously takes on the form of our surrounding volcanic mauka; Kā Tiritiri-o-te-Moana. These mauka are both the source of our braided awa and the various pōhatu that journey in their flow, scattering across our hills, riverbeds and seashores.
Throughout this rug are flecks of a pale green in reference to the agates I had recently connected with and collected from Wairewa coastline. Among many other pōhatu, agates are created from ahi kōmau, and begin to take on their own pathway towards the ocean; like the agate I found on the shore, traced around sharing its mauri into the walls of Te Whare Tapere, and now carry with me.
Travelling along awa and simmering in the sea, the spark within this volcanic pōhatu is reigniting our ahi kā and burning bright once again.
Ko Takaroa Makutu rāua ko Florence Aldridge ōku tāua. This work is a mihi to them.
My tāua is my ocean,
my tāua is my spark,
now I carry an agate in my pocket,
and we are toru.
Toru (sea, spark, stone), 2023. Handtufted wool, latex & hessian backing, wool binding. Detail.
Toru (sea, spark, stone), 2023. Handtufted wool, latex & hessian backing, wool binding. Installation view. Photo credit: Jemma Mitchell.
Toru (sea, spark, stone), 2023. Handtufted wool, latex & hessian backing, wool binding. Installation view, opening event. Photo credit: Jemma Mitchell.
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