Te Tuhi is pleased to welcome Ashleigh Taupaki (Ngāti Hako, Samoan) who will be developing her work under the sponsorship of the Papatūnga programme at O Wairoa Marae for the next three months.

Ashleigh works primarily in object, drawing, and research practices. She interrogates systems of power through iwi and place-specific narratives; with decolonial methodologies embedded in the material processes, and the collection of stories and knowledge.

Using found, gifted, and natural materials, Ashleigh has developed an expanded mind-mapping practice that emphasises connectivities within social, cultural and environmental ecologies. Through community workshopping, Taupaki uses this mode of engagement to offer a sense of place and material agency to those outside of the institutional and academic space in a way that fosters sharing, relationality and generosity.

Of joining the Papatūnga Project Development Programme, Ashleigh says “I am hoping to use this residency to explore ways that text can activate space, and stand alone as an art work. Because my practice is very research driven, I want to close the gap between my writing and my art making so that there is a clearer relationship between the two. I am also looking forward to journaling while at the marae and at beaches near there during my downtime.”

Papatūnga is Te Tuhi’s development programme for arts practitioners delivered at O Wairoa Marae, an urban marae in Howick, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and Contemporary Art Foundation.

Visit the Te Tuhi website for more information on the Papatūnga artist development programme.

Previous Next