Graham Tipene, Te Toi o Mangahekea, 2023, commissioned by Auckland Art Toi o Tāmaki, 2023
Photo Credit
Graham Tipene, Te Toi o Mangahekea, 2023, commissioned by Auckland Art Toi o Tāmaki, 2023
Photo Credit
Te Toi o Mangahekea, 2023 by tā moko and public installation artist Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu) draws on water for inspiration, acknowledging how integral it is to all life, and the many waters of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The six takarangi or interlocking spiral designs speak to the cyclical life of water, from sky to lake, to river, to sea, to sky. Tipene explains that they ‘represent male and female; Ranginui and Papatūānuku; the Waitematā and the Manukau, the two harbours surrounding the Gallery; and finally, east and west, the coastal waters, thereby covering the whole motu’.
Together these designs speak to the interconnectedness of the environment, and our duty of manaakitanga, or care, as kaitiaki, guardians. Commissioned for the Gallery’s Heritage Restoration Project, Kia Whakahou, Kia Whakaora (to restore, to heal) Te Toi o Mangahekea brings to mind the whakataukī ‘He taonga tuku iho nō ngā Tūpuna’ – ‘the treasures passed down from the ancestors’.
Find out more about the Gallery’s Kia Whakahou Kia Whakaora Heritage Restoration Project here.
Te Toi o Mangahekea, 2023 by tā moko and public installation artist Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu) draws on water for inspiration, acknowledging how integral it is to all life, and the many waters of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The six takarangi or interlocking spiral designs speak to the cyclical life of water, from sky to lake, to river, to sea, to sky. Tipene explains that they ‘represent male and female; Ranginui and Papatūānuku; the Waitematā and the Manukau, the two harbours surrounding the Gallery; and finally, east and west, the coastal waters, thereby covering the whole motu’.
Together these designs speak to the interconnectedness of the environment, and our duty of manaakitanga, or care, as kaitiaki, guardians. Commissioned for the Gallery’s Heritage Restoration Project, Kia Whakahou, Kia Whakaora (to restore, to heal) Te Toi o Mangahekea brings to mind the whakataukī ‘He taonga tuku iho nō ngā Tūpuna’ – ‘the treasures passed down from the ancestors’.
Find out more about the Gallery’s Kia Whakahou Kia Whakaora Heritage Restoration Project here.
