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Tūmara Light Show - Matariki Festival 16

    The setting was 2 dark & cold evenings in Auckland City, the location was outside the front of Auckland Library & the canvas - the historical St James Theatre. The eveninTg was spent celebrating the beauty of community, colour & culture for Matariki - a combination of traditional performances & contemporary experiences that included a large scale projection mapping experience for the viewer that we headed up.

    We were approached to present a body of work that connected my (Janine) Ngāti Paoa iwi heritage with our contemporary art style & experiences. The result was a 5 minute digital story put together by the amazingly talented Daniel Davis & his assistant Marcus who some how took all of our crazy ideas, graphic art work, korero & passion & put it into a digital format. It is the story of my whakapapa, the layers of my family history that connects me back to my papa kainga (ancestral land) & my tupuna (ancestors). The process was about learning, looking forward to the future, reflecting back on the past & celebrating such a special time known as Matariki - the Māori new year. We filmed 4 different generations in my immediate family including my mum & daughter & together we shared a very personal part of heart to the public of Auckland.

    We will have the video up soon for you to check out but until then here are a few cool shots taken by Tim Firkin for the Auckland Libraries. Thank you to Auckland Council, Matariki Festival, Auckland Library & everyone involved. Also a huge congratulations to Janine Clarkin & her team for organising such a great event what a privilege to be involved with such an awesome kaupapa.

     

    Hauhake - Reveal day photos

      What an amazing way to start the Matariki Festival by closing down the bottom of Queen Street, standing in the rain & pouring water on the ground with your family & friends. What an honour to be part of this project, thanks to the team for the great photos!

       

      'Hauhake' - Rain art installation

        After a few weeks of designing & a full day of installation, 'Hauhake' or 'harvest' is a temporary art installation situated outside the Britomart train station at the bottom of Queen Street, Auckland. Using a special water proofing spray and a stencil, the art work is invisible until it is revealed with water – or rain, which is perfect for Auckland in mid-winter.

        Janine’s Ngati Paoa heritage has played a big part in the inspiration for the art work. The Auckland iwi, which is co-hosting this year’s Matariki Festival with Auckland Council, were known for their great fleet of waka and the abundance of crops they traded in Tāmaki Makaura. Janine’s Great Great Grandfather William Castle was set up by Rangatira to help manage trading for the Iwi from the 1850s until 1867 & later married the ancestress Parewheururangi Taumore.

        The design for Hauhake consists of silhouette images of the Ngāti Paoa waka, Kōtuiti. The pattern they form represents the lines of crops of a field, a reminder of the vast plantations of produce that were grown & traded here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Those goods came by waka from the trading post built next to the family cottage in Waitawa Bay & arrived here under our feet where the original coastal shoreline was but is now reclaimed land. They are arranged to symbolise the the natural movement from the waves of the ocean & the rhythm that would have been created through the paddling of the waka. The direction of the rows change back & forward twice, a reminder of the constant trading that took place all of those years ago & the journeys across the Hauraki.

        The application of water, to reveal the art work, represents the rain that waters the crops, but also the Hauraki Gulf & what is known as Tikapa Moana. Walking through the garden rows, we walk together as a multi-generational roopu like the years gone by where the stories of Matariki & the rich knowledge would have been passed down to future generations through experience & times of celebration together.

        Hauhake tells a beautiful, deeply personal story, brought to life in the middle of Queen St.

         
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