Nici Cumpston, Oh my Murray Darling, 2019. Courtesy the artist and Michael Reid Gallery.
Photo Credit
Artists
- Rebecca Belmore
- Israel Birch
- Elisa Jane Carmichael
- Vicki Couzens
- Nici Cumpston
- Lindsay Dawn Dobbin
- Nikau Hindin
- Maria Hupfield
- Jeremy Leatinu’u
- Ishmael Marika
- Marianne Nicolson
- William Noah
- Onaman Collective (Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch)
- Jessie Onark
- Nova Paul
- Rachael Rakena
- James Tylor
- Keri Whaitiri
- Regina Pilawuk Wilson
Three nations, four curators, 40 artworks, Naadohbii: To Draw Water has been touring the globe and comes to Pātaka after seasons at the Melbourne Museum and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The exhibition features artworks from Indigenous Australian, Canadian and New Zealand artists, including newly commissioned pieces, and focuses on Indigenous connections to water.
Spanning photography, video, textiles and installation, Naadohbii, which means ‘to draw or seek water’ in the Anishinaabemowin language of the First Peoples of Canada, continues the conversations about climate change from an Indigenous perspective.
An Indigenous-led exhibition, Naadohbii: To Draw Water was produced between the three nations during the height of Covid pandemic. It was curated by Reuben Friend and Ioana Gordon-Smith (Pātaka, New Zealand), Jaimie Isaac (Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada) and Kimberley Moulton (Melbourne Museum, Australia)
The New Zealand artists featured in the exhibition are Israel Birch, Nikau Hindin, Jeremy Leatinu’u, Nova Paul, Rachael Rakena and Keri Whaitiri.
The stories in the exhibition range from the complex ecologies of undersea life, the histories of legal concerns over water ownership and the cultural and spiritual significance of water. At a time when these relationships are increasingly under threat, the urgency of Indigenous voices is apparent throughout the works.
“For First Peoples, our country of earth, sky, and water grounds us in our history, our identity and our futures, and water is pertinent to the survival of all of three of these aspects to who we are," says Naadohbii: To Draw Water co-curator and senior curator South Eastern Aboriginal collections at Museums Victoria, Kimberley Moulton.
Three nations, four curators, 40 artworks, Naadohbii: To Draw Water has been touring the globe and comes to Pātaka after seasons at the Melbourne Museum and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The exhibition features artworks from Indigenous Australian, Canadian and New Zealand artists, including newly commissioned pieces, and focuses on Indigenous connections to water.
Spanning photography, video, textiles and installation, Naadohbii, which means ‘to draw or seek water’ in the Anishinaabemowin language of the First Peoples of Canada, continues the conversations about climate change from an Indigenous perspective.
An Indigenous-led exhibition, Naadohbii: To Draw Water was produced between the three nations during the height of Covid pandemic. It was curated by Reuben Friend and Ioana Gordon-Smith (Pātaka, New Zealand), Jaimie Isaac (Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada) and Kimberley Moulton (Melbourne Museum, Australia)
The New Zealand artists featured in the exhibition are Israel Birch, Nikau Hindin, Jeremy Leatinu’u, Nova Paul, Rachael Rakena and Keri Whaitiri.
The stories in the exhibition range from the complex ecologies of undersea life, the histories of legal concerns over water ownership and the cultural and spiritual significance of water. At a time when these relationships are increasingly under threat, the urgency of Indigenous voices is apparent throughout the works.
“For First Peoples, our country of earth, sky, and water grounds us in our history, our identity and our futures, and water is pertinent to the survival of all of three of these aspects to who we are," says Naadohbii: To Draw Water co-curator and senior curator South Eastern Aboriginal collections at Museums Victoria, Kimberley Moulton.
